


As Fate Would Have it

by midnightsurge



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), Sherlock (TV), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Basically what would have happened in the movie, Crossover, Harry and Eggsy being BAMFS together, Harry and Eggsy on missions together, If Eggsy was an MI6 agent instead of a Kingsman agent, M/M, MI6!Eggsy, Slow Build, Smut, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-05-15
Packaged: 2018-03-21 04:10:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 45,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3676923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightsurge/pseuds/midnightsurge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The young man smiled brightly again, turning to face him slightly as they walked outside. “M’name’s Eggsy. Eggsy Unwin.”</p><p>Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks. He knew that name. </p><p>Eggsy turned to face him expectantly once he’d realised the other was no longer walking next to him.</p><p>“I think you knew me dad, righ’?”  </p><p>Or</p><p>Eggsy never joined Kingsman. Instead, he finished his Marines training and was recruited by MI6. Harry and Eggsy meet for the first time in over seventeen years at Imperial College.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello Harry

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty much what's stated in the tags; a rewrite of the movie if Eggsy had joined MI6 instead. I also realise that there's quite a fandom for James Bond/Sherlock crossovers, so I wanted to contribute in this way :)

            Harry stalked through the halls of Imperial College, his oxfords echoing loudly in the empty halls. At that time of day, that particular campus was nearly deserted, as most classes were held after twelve. Harry made sure to arrive a few minutes before Professor Arnold was known to show up to prepare his classroom.

            The Kingsman agent could feel the anger boiling under his skin. His friend had sacrificed himself to save this man and there he was, walking around London like nothing had happened. Harry wouldn’t stand for this. He would find out who was behind these kidnappings, and then he’d destroy the ones who were responsible for Lancelot’s death.

            He turned left at the end of the hall and continued until he found the right door. Harry pushed through and was about to make his way to the front of the classroom to await the professor’s arrival when he noticed he wasn’t alone.

            “Oh,” he stopped short in his tracks, the door closing lightly behind him. The room’s only other occupant was a very young man in a bespoke pale gray suit, his light brown hair fashionably slicked back and his shoes polished to gleam. He stood near the desk, his pose casual as he held his hands in his pockets.

            “Hello,” the young man smiled slightly, revealing perfectly white teeth.

            Harry stared at him for a while longer before suddenly remembering his manners. “Yes, hello,” he said, slowly advancing forward.

            “Are you here to see Professor Arnold?” the other asked, his blue eyes carefully observing Harry as he took the steps down one at a time.

            Harry finally took the last step and came to stand a mere few feet away from the younger man. He regarded the stranger curiously, confidence exuding from the man in waves. “Why yes I am. Are you here to see him as well?”

            The other man hummed, his cheeks creasing in a frightfully beautiful smile. “Not quite,” he said as he removed his hands from his pockets and took a step closer. “I’m here to see you, Mr. Hart,” he tilted his head forward and looked at him through his long lashes.

            Alarms sounded internally in Harry’s head but he had no time to do anything before the younger man had grabbed hold of his arms and turned him around, pushing him against the professor’s desk and keeping him there.

            “I’m afraid I can’t let you interfere with the Professor, Mr. Hart.”

            “Young man,” Harry began calmly, his muscles tense and ready for a fight. “I can promise you that if you do not let me go this instant, I will do it myself and hurt you gravely in return.”

            “I’m not here lookin’ for a fight,” the man smirked, a gleeful look in his eyes. “I’m here on orders from my boss.” He sobered up slightly as he continued. “I understand that your friend was a casualty in this mess, Mr. Hart, but MI6 has reason to believe that interfering now would only cause more problems.”

            “MI6?” Harry glanced at him from head to toe, his body still poised for a fight.

            Footsteps approaching from the hallway caught both of their attentions. “Fuck,” the younger man swore quietly, twisting his head slightly to glance behind him at the door. “Just… follow my lead okay? I promise we’ll explain this whole mess soon.”

            Before Harry could say anything in reply, the younger man suddenly pushed himself forward and up onto his toes, wrapped his arms around the older man’s neck, and planted a kiss on Harry’s mouth. Harry’s own hands came up instinctively to place them on the other’s hips. Just as that happened, the door behind them finally opened.

            “Oh my dear,” a startled voice came from the doorway, the sound of a briefcase hitting the ground following shortly after.

            The young man pulled away abruptly, a flush staining his cheeks as he turned to face the intruder with wide eyes. “Oh gosh, we’re so sorry professor!” he exclaimed, his hands pulling at his suit in a semblance of straightening it out.

            Harry was frozen for a second before following suit, his mind still whirring in confusion. “Our apologies professor,” he nodded towards the man who still stood shocked at the entrance. “We seem to have gotten a little… carried away,” he spared the younger man another curious glance.

            “No no, that’s quite… understandable, I suppose.” The professor frowned slightly before bending down hastily to retrieve his fallen briefcase. “Is there something I could help you gentlemen with?” He started making his way to the desk at the front of the room while still eyeing them warily.

            “Actually professor, I had a few questions regarding your paper on the Gaia theory?” Harry watched as the younger man stepped forward, his hand extending for a handshake. “My name is Charles Redmayne, I’m a graduate student at Oxford. When I read your research, I just knew I had to find a way to work it into my thesis paper,” he smiled brightly.

            “Oh of course!” the professor exclaimed, his own expression brightening. “Always a pleasure to meet a fellow intellectual,” he reached forward to shake his hand enthusiastically. “And this gentleman is…” he looked at Harry.

            “Harry Wotton,” he plastered a charming smile on his face, extending his own hand.

            “I’m very sorry that you had to walk in on that,” ‘Charles’ blushed prettily once they had finished their introductions. “I’m afraid I don’t get to see my partner much, and I’m only in town for a few days. We didn’t mean to…” he trailed off nervously.

            Harry had to give it to the young man. He could lie straight through his teeth.

            “Distance makes the heart grow fonder, as they say,” Professor Arnold gave them an indulgent smile. “Mr. Redmayne, it would be my absolute pleasure to discuss my paper with you, but unfortunately I’m a little bit behind schedule at the moment, as it were. Perhaps we can schedule a better time…?”

            “Of course!” the younger man exclaimed happily. “That won’t be a problem.”

            Harry followed ‘Charles’ out once he had set a meeting with the professor, keeping a close eye on the younger man to make sure he didn’t run off.

            “Thank you,” the man in the gray suit suddenly said. “For followin’ along,” he explained at Harry’s quizzical glance.

            “I’m still awaiting explanations,” Harry told him. “I also find it extremely peculiar that you know my real name. I only know your pseudonym.”

            The young man smiled brightly again, turning to face him slightly as they walked outside. “M’name’s Eggsy. Eggsy Unwin.”

            Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks. He knew that name.

            Eggsy turned to face him expectantly once he’d realised the other was no longer walking next to him.

            “I think you knew me dad, righ’?”  


	2. When do we start?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking a few liberties with the timeline, hope everyone is okay with that :)
> 
> EDIT: Just to clarify, M is Mallory!! Sorry if that wasn't made to clear, I'll try to fix it soon :)

            The group that had gathered together was a rather odd one, Harry remarked to himself. Though they’d had dealings with MI6 before, it wasn’t enough to warrant familiarity in their actions towards each other. Sitting in his seat, Harry found it difficult to keep from fidgeting, something he hadn’t done since he was practically a young child.

            The ride there was… interesting, if one were to use simple terms. Eggsy had stayed quiet after ‘dropping the bomb’, as they would say, choosing instead to lead Harry calmly towards his own taxi and opening the door, gesturing for Harry to go in first. The younger man followed suit and closed the door behind him, reaching over the divide to give the driver a piece of paper with a location written on it.

            “I hope you don’t mind us taking your car,” began the only other sentence Eggsy would say until their arrival to god knows where, “I figured you would feel more comfortable with your own driver takin’ us there instead of havin’ me drive.”

            “And I’m simply meant to trust your word in all of this?” Harry commented truthfully. “You might be lying so as to lead me to my death.”

            Eggsy’s lips curled up in a small smile before the fingers of his right hand moved up to his tie, slowly loosening the fabric and undoing the buttons under it. Harry wondered what the boy was playing at until he saw the younger man pull at a chain and tug it off, the charm held tightly in his clenched palm. Eggsy glanced at him wearily before extending his arm and showing him what it was.

            Harry felt his breath catch in his chest as he recognised the familiar medallion. He reached for it hesitantly and turned it over with delicate fingers, making sure to keep it in Eggsy’s palm so as not to separate him from it. The numbers at the back were familiar to him.

            “I see,” Harry muttered quietly before slowly sinking back into his seat. He watched as the chain was placed back on Eggsy’s neck. He continued to watch as the medallion disappeared under Eggsy’s shirt, the buttons fastening over the delicate skin.

            Harry snapped himself out of his contemplation of recent events when he heard the door open, their final guest joining them. He smiled tightly at Merlin as his old friend stepped past the threshold with an expression of bewilderment on his face.

            “Now that we’ve all arrived, perhaps we can commence with this meeting,” the man at the desk began, elbows on the surface and fingers lightly pressed together. “My sincerest apologies for dragging you all here to my personal residence, I’m afraid we’ve had some… difficulty trying to find a safe location to meet.”

            The man watched his guests with serious eyes, all of them dispersed at odd ends of the room. Harry and Merlin shared the loveseat at one side of the desk, while Eggsy and another young man in a brown cardigan and thick glasses sat at the one opposite them. Standing stiffly at the entrance was a slightly older gentleman – younger than Harry, most probably – his blond hair slightly unruly, and his navy blue suit somewhat rumpled, the collar open and tie-less.

            The final occupant of the room was sitting on a lone armchair situated to the left of the desk. He had a serious and grave air about him. Harry remembered him fairly well, as he should, considering he was currently running MI6.

            “Galahad, Merlin, I apologise for dragging you into this on such short notice,” the man at the desk addressed them. “It was all rather sudden.”

            Merlin smiled tightly while trying to be mindful of his manners. “Mr. Holmes, while we appreciate the apology, an explanation would go a much longer way.”

            “Of course, of course,” he nodded gravely. “I’m… not quite certain how to properly explain this situation without inducing a few collective aneurysms,” he glanced to the head of MI6, “but all of us are gathered here at this moment because we’ve yet to be compromised.”

            At this, Eggsy glanced up to meet Harry’s gaze, his blue eyes hard like steel. The young man seated next to him suddenly straightened up in curiosity.

            “Does this have anything to do with why there’s been so many glitches in Q-branch as of late?” he asked, absentmindedly pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

            “Very much so, yes,” M answered from his seat, a look of pure exhaustion about him. “We’ve had to make a few… arrangements in how our staff access vital information.”

            “Galahad,” Holmes started, before stopping hesitantly. “I appreciate you cooperating with us today; I understand it was a very difficult decision to make –”

            “With all due respect, Mr. Holmes,” Harry sighed, pinching at his nose – he would be horrified at his utter lack of manners later in the privacy of his own home – “I quite agree with Merlin on this matter. An explanation would be quite excellent.”

            Mycroft glanced between the two of them before nodding solemnly. “MI6 has been compromised,” he finally announced. “It seems Kingsman has been as well.”

            There were many varying reactions across the room. Merlin and Harry glanced at each other with twin expressions of bewilderment. Across from them, Eggsy looked angry and resolute. The young man next to him looked positively furious.

            “Well,” the man at the door spoke up, his shoulder leaning against the wall casually, “can’t say it’s the first time.”

            “Oh for fuck’s sake, Bond,” M muttered in exasperation, not even bothering to look at the man in question.

            Bond shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

            “Are we quite certain 007 isn’t one of them,” the young dark haired man commented with a stiff smile on his face.

            “My dear Q, I would never think to betray you. You’d turn my life into a living hell.”

            “Gentlemen, please. Shut. Up,” M glared at all of them. “This is a serious matter. Out of the entirety of MI6 and the Kingsman agency, the only people who can be trusted right now are in this very room.”

            The men glanced at each other, the seriousness of the situation catching up to them.

            “Moneypenny and Tanner?” Bond suddenly asked.

             “They’re both out of country at the moment, but it seems they are uncompromised,” M answered him quietly.

            “Galahad, the man you’re looking for is a mister Richmond Valentine,” Mycroft turned to face Harry. “We believe he is behind the recent string of kidnappings of high profile members of society, including one Professor James Arnold. I understand your friend Lancelot passed away while attempting to rescue him.”

             Harry grit his teeth tightly; he could feel Merlin’s anger growing next to him.

            ‘While investigating Valentine,” and here Mycroft paused for a moment. “While investigating Valentine,” he started again, “we have found evidence of corruption within MI6. Unfortunately, it seems this corruption also extends to Kingsman.” He picked up a file from his desk and stood to give it to Harry and Merlin.

            When Harry saw the photographs inside the file, he felt the anger renew itself beneath his skin. He handed the file over to Merlin and stood up abruptly, his hands itching to destroy something, but his ever-present manners held him back; he chose instead to pace behind the loveseat.

            “This…” Merlin hesitated. “This can’t be possible… Arthur wouldn’t…”

            The rest of the room stayed quiet as they watched the two men attempt to come to terms with the fact that Arthur, the man who led them, the man who guided them, could have betrayed them in this way.

            “Is he the only one?” Harry grit through his teeth. From the corner of his eye, he could see Eggy’s gaze trained on him as he continued to pace.

            “No, but we’re unsure of how far it extends,” Mycroft sighed tiredly. “Hence the security measures for today.”

            “I take it you have a plan, then?” Harry turned to face him. He needed orders. He needed to do _something_.

            Mycroft nodded and pointed towards Eggsy. “I understand you’re going through a selection process at the moment for Lancelot’s position. It might be a bit late, but we’ll place Eggsy in as your candidate, as I understand you had chosen not to submit anyone for candidacy this time.”

            “It would be possible,” Merlin nodded, “but to what purpose?”

            “We need an excuse for his presence within your agency,” M explained. “I’m afraid we have too many eyes watching us on our end, so this mission will have to be conducted through Kingsman. Galahad, Merlin, we’ll need to take down Valentine without alerting the rest of MI6 or Kingsman that we’re onto him.”

            “What are Q and I here for, then?” Bond asked them.

            “You’ll be assisting, obviously,” M answered with a glare. “I also figured you’d want to know why I suddenly pulled your protégé from the field,” he nodded towards Eggsy.

            Mycroft ignored them all as he continued to relay the plan to Harry and Merlin. “He would have to fail the test right before the end, of course, but the Lancelot candidacy would give a legitimate excuse for his presence near you, Galahad. In the meantime, the two of you would be able to investigate Valentine from a more personal angle while we attempt to figure out just how far he got into our ranks and whether or not we can do anything despite it.”

            “Mr. Holmes,” Harry stared him down, “you are well aware that Kingsman is an _independent_ agency; we were formed with the purpose of not finding ourselves under the influence of any governing system.”

            “I understand that perfectly well,” Mycroft agreed. “Which is why we believe this plan should be executed by you, Galahad. If Valentine was able to get to the British government, then we don’t know how far his influence extends. Kingsman might also be compromised, but your independent stature gives you more leeway in this case.”

            Harry and Merlin glanced at each other once more, an entire conversation wordlessly happening between them in a matter of seconds. Merlin nodded gravely before turning and speaking up. “We’ll have to fix up the surveillance in times where… _Eggsy_ ,” he glanced at the man in question, “will be away with Galahad. No one can notice he’s missing or else it’ll be suspicious.”

            “I can help with that as well,” Q piped up.

            “007,” M addressed the blond man, “we’ll be sending you on a few field missions to areas we believe may have been testing grounds for whatever it is Valentine’s planning. Q will be your sole handler on these cases. 009,” he turned to Eggsy, “you’ll be assuming your real identity as your history with Galahad will make your candidacy more believable.”

            “Yes, sir,” Eggsy agreed.

            “All of my hard work gone to waste,” Bond muttered darkly from his corner. “He’ll be back in those awful baggy jeans and blasted jackets.” He deliberately ignored the glare Eggsy sent his way.

            “Galahad,” Mycroft’s voice was solemn. “We will only go along with the plan at your approval.”

            Harry glanced at every man in the room. These people were willing to help them catch the one who had killed his friend. These virtual strangers were willing to help when their own organisation had turned against them. No matter how they spun it, they were all in the same boat. He shared one last glance with Merlin before coming to a decision.

            “When do we start?”


	3. The Things we Want

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking complete liberties with the timeline!! I know that, in the movie, Harry goes to see the professor after the water scene, but I decided to switch it!

            Eggsy hissed loudly, the solution stinging the cuts on his knuckles. He smiled sheepishly at Harry’s resulting glance. “Sorry,” he shrugged his shoulders.

            “No need to apologise,” Harry told him as he continued to clean the cuts. “I imagine punching the glass was slightly more painful than this, however.”

            “Honest though, did you guys really have to turn the dorm into a fuckin’ aquarium?” Eggsy complained, his sleeping pants still wet and soggy, his hair continuously dripping water onto his face.

            “It’s one way of keeping you all on your toes,” Harry smiled and brought his chair closer to Eggsy’s. They were sitting in the deserted infirmary, the first aid kit open at Harry’s side as he cleaned the younger man’s wounds. “I can tell you this though,” Harry looked up at him as he threw away the cotton swabs and reached for the bandages. “I do believe you are the first one to have ever broken the two-way mirror in order to escape.”

            Eggsy raised an inquisitive brow, his lips blue and chattering lightly from the cold. “What the ‘ell do they normally do then?”

            “They wait it out,” Harry told him as he grabbed hold of the younger man’s hand once more, his fingers delicate as he inspected and prodded at the injuries once more. Above him, he heard Eggsy’s sharp intake of breath when he touched over a certain spot. “I’m barely even touching you,” Harry remarked with a small smile playing at his lips. “Should you really be an agent if you’re so sensitive to minor injuries?”

            Eggsy coughed slightly to clear his throat. “M’not sensitive,” he grumbled petulantly.

            When Harry glanced up, he noticed that the other’s cheeks had gone red and that he was actively avoiding his gaze. “You must be freezing,” Harry commented lightly, choosing to ignore the possible implications regarding Eggsy’s reaction. He stood up and went to one of the cupboards towards the back of the room, opening it to pull out a blanket. He sat back down after placing it over Eggsy’s pale shoulders and went to tending to his hand once more. His eyes however, had caught on the ever-present chain around the younger man’s throat.

            “Oxfords not brogues, righ’?” he heard Eggsy say.

            Harry’s gaze was sharp at it focused on the younger man’s blue eyes. “You remember that,” he said after a moment.

            “’Course I do. I almos’ called the number once,” he smiled ruefully. He broke eye contact and focused on his injured hand instead, his cheeks flaming slightly at the older man continued to look at him.

            Harry shifted slightly at the revelation. “Why didn’t you?” he asked.

            Eggsy contemplated his answer. “Because I realised that I couldn’ rely on others to bail me ou’ when I needed help.” The words were said slowly, as though he still needed to think his answer over some more.

            Harry sat quietly in his seat. He had finally begun to wrap Eggsy’s knuckles with the clean bandages, but he found his movements turning slow and languid as he thought over the man’s words. “I want to apologise,” he finally said after a moment. “I don’t think I ever formally apologised to you about your father.”

            Eggsy shook his head, his left hand coming up to stop Harry as he worked with the bandages. “Please don’t,” he told him quietly. “I… I’m no’ happy, don’ get me wrong. But... it helps to know that he died while savin’ others.”

            “He wouldn’t have had to die at all if I hadn’t missed that stupid –” Harry was getting agitated, his voice rising slightly in anger at his past self, his hands shaking at the memory until soft fingers grabbed at his wrists and forced them to stop. He looked up again to see Eggsy at the edge of his seat, looking at him earnestly.

            “Harry. Stop blamin’ yourself. It ain’t gonna change anythin’, alrigh’?” Eggsy spoke.

            “Your poor mother,” Harry shook his head at the memory. “I didn’t know how to tell her that her husband was never coming home because he chose to save our lives.”

            Eggsy winced at the mention of his mother but hastily tried to cover it up. Harry however, noticed the reaction.

            “What happened to your mother?” He instantly sobered up at the possibility of this man having lost both his parents.

            “Nothin’, nothin’… I just haven’ seen her in a while, is all,” Eggsy mumbled in response, slowly pulling away.

            “Eggsy?” Harry pressed.

            The young man spared him a nervous glance before continuing. “She wasn’ happy with my joinin’ the Marines,” he swallowed harshly. “Said that if I continued, she didn’ wan’ me to come back at all. Would save her the trouble of havin’ to bury a dead son next to her dead husban’,” he shrugged self-consciously. “So I didn’ go back.” At Harry’s silence, he hurried to add, “I still check on ‘em,” he said, his eyes wide. “Q helps me keep an eye out on ‘em, and I send them money every week, though she doesn’ really know where it comes from… but I guess she’s probably figured it out by now.”

            “Eggsy,” Harry sighed, grabbing hold of the younger man’s injured hand again. “I’m so sorry.”

            “No, you don’ get to apologise for this either,” Eggsy answered back viciously. “I made this decision on my own. It wasn’ your fault, wasn’ hers either. Tha’ was _my_ decision.”

            Harry swallowed harshly. For a while, there was nothing but the sound of their breathing to fill the quiet in the room.

            “Harry,” Eggsy said in a low voice. “None of this is your fault.”

            They looked at each other, both unable to tear their gaze away. Eventually, it was a cough from the doorway that interrupted them. They turned to look at the door in perfect synchronisation, their expressions startled and slightly guilty.

            “I don’t mean to interrupt,” Merlin glanced at them curiously, “but the others are starting to notice that Eggsy is missing.”

            Harry nodded. “Of course. I’ll finish bandaging him up and he’ll be on his way.”

            Merlin nodded slowly and backed away, the curious expression still present on his face.

            Eggsy cleared his throat. “Thank you for this,” he nodded to where Harry had gone back to placing the bandages on his injured hand. “Could’ve gone it meself but ‘preciate the help.”

            Harry nodded. “Well I can’t very well return you to your mentor in less than perfect condition, could I?” he smiled tightly.

            “Nah, he’s roughed me up more than this loads of times,” Eggsy scoffed, his smile a genuine one. “Says he ain’t trainin’ me proper if I ain’t covered in cuts and bruises.”

            Harry hummed but said nothing.

            “That girl,” Eggsy asked after a moment. “She ain’t really dead, is she?”

            The older man was startled at the sudden laughter that escaped him. “No, no,” he laughed. “She’s fine. It’s merely a scare tactic.”

            “Thank fuck,” Eggsy let out a relieved sigh. “That woulda been brutal.”

            “Alright,” Harry finished putting the bandages on. “You’re all clean. Off you go.”

            Eggsy nodded and stood up, the blanket tightly wrapped around his shoulders. “We have that meetin’ with Arnold in two days,” he reminded the older man.

            “Right,” Harry stood up as well. “I’ll let Merlin know he needs to prepare for then.”

            Eggsy nodded and started making his way to the door, his pants leaving a trail of water behind him. “Harry?” he stopped at the doorway and turned around, a frown on his face.

            “Yes?” Harry looked up from where he was putting away the first-aid kit.

            “If I had called you back then,” he speculated out loud, “what would’ve changed?”

            Harry didn’t know how to answer. “I’m not quite sure, Eggsy.”

            The younger man nodded slowly before finally making his way back to the dormitory, leaving Harry alone to contemplate that very question.


	4. Gaia

            “This alrigh’?” came Eggsy’s voice as he opened the bathroom door. Merlin had managed to sneak him out of Kingsman HQ and to Harry’s flat to get ready for their scheduled meeting with Professor Arnold that afternoon.

            Harry turned to face him and felt his jaw drop slightly as he caught sight of the boy. Eggsy stepped out in a _very_ tight white shirt with the top buttons still undone, and form-fitting slacks that hugged the generous curves of his muscles and were held up by a black leather belt.

            “I ain’t sure if I should wear a tie,” Eggsy continued to speak without waiting for an answer, his eyes trained on his cufflinks as he adjusted them. “I mean, I’m s’posed to be a studen’, righ’? Students don’ really wear ties,” he mumbled absently.

            Harry took the other man’s moment of preoccupation to pull himself together. For the life of him, he could not understand the nature of his reactions since that night in the infirmary. “No tie should be fine,” he cleared his throat. “I doubt Professor Arnold would expect a hectic graduate student to be so put-together for such an informal meeting, Oxford or not.”

            “Righ’,” Eggsy nodded and looked up with a smile before it gradually faded away as he thought of something. “Will you be alrigh’?” he asked hesitantly, slowly approaching the older man standing in the hallway.

            Harry raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

            “With meetin’ Professor Arnold… I can understan’ if you wan’ me to go alone,” Eggsy told him honestly. “It ain’ easy to sit in front of the man who watched your friend die.” The young agent didn’t sugar-coat his words. He knew such a tactic would not be appreciated in present company. “With all this mess, I didn’ even get the chance to see how you’re holdin’ up.”

            The older man sighed and rubbed tiredly at his forehead, a show of weakness that he rarely ever displayed. “I’ve just recently found out that a dear friend of mine – who consequently also knew your father – was killed while rescuing a kidnapped man who turned out to _not_ be kidnapped, and now _Arthur_ , the man who has been at the head of the Kingsman Secret Service for _decades_ has been accused of corruption and double-crossing, leaving me to figure out how to stop a bloody fucking madman who just so happens to be one of the richest and most influential figures in the world. Does that sound about right?”

            Eggsy gaped in the wake of his long and winded answer. He nodded wordlessly.

            “Well then. While I admit that I am feeling slightly overwhelmed,” he smiled cruelly, “I will not be able to rest until this whole thing has been resolved and Lancelot can find the peace he deserves. Is that enough?” he asked Eggsy honestly. He could feel the pressure building up around him, the weight trying to pull him further to the ground, but he knew he had to keep a tight hold to his reasons so as not to simply burn everything where it stood and be done with it.

            The young man observed him carefully, his painfully bright blue eyes taking in more details than they should. “More than enough,” he finally answered. “If ever you do feel like burnin’ everythin’ down though… just tell me. I do really love fire,” he smiled crookedly, his white teeth on full display.

            That startled a much needed laugh out of Harry. He shook his head in mock exasperation and started down the hall. “Put your bloody suit jacket on, we’re going to be late.”

            Eggsy’s giggles followed him down the stairs and into the car, the two of them settling in as the driver began to drive away. “Alrigh’ so, as a result of my… _improvisation_ the last time we met Professor Arnold, I guess we’ll be continuin’ on as partners?” he turned to ask Harry, his cheeks blushing slightly at the question.

            “Yes, there wouldn’t be any point to changing that now. Have you read the file Merlin gave you on the professor’s research?” Harry reached over and activated the screen on the back of the front seat, pulling said file up for them to look at together.

            “Yeah, he’s some sor’ of environmentalist, righ’?” Eggsy shifted closer to the screen, his eyes skimming through familiar words.

            “Yes. Now, what we want to know is why Valentine has such an interest in him,” Harry continued to tap on the screen, pulling up several different research papers.

            “Valentine’s known for that whole ‘go green, save the planet’ stand of his; what if Arnold’s theories fit into whatever plan he’s workin’ on?” Eggsy turned to look at him.

            “That’s very possible,” Harry nodded. “That still doesn’t tell us much though; the professor is quite outspoken in his field. There’ll be piles of research papers to go through.”

            “Guess we’ll jus’ have to wing it and see.” Eggsy smirked at him,

            “Cheeky,” Harry muttered while shaking his head fondly.

            Eggsy’s expression brightened even more. When the car finally came to a halt, they glanced at each other one final time before exiting on to the pavement. “Let’s get this over with,” the younger man muttered as he adjusted his suit.

            “Come on.” Harry placed his hand at the small of Eggsy’s back to steer him forward, making sure to keep his touch light and delicate.

            The young agent followed him willingly, the pair of them ignoring the looks they drew from bystanders. It was easy to spot Professor Arnold sitting in the corner of the small restaurant, and it wasn’t long before they were seated as well, pleasantries exchanged and pushed out of the way.

            “So, tell me Charles,” the professor spoke after taking a sip of his water, “What is it that got you interested in this field?”

            “To be honest, I find it extremely difficult _not_ to be interested in it.” Eggsy was all charms, his smile on full display. “We lived near the edge of the woods when I was younger, and moving to the city was a bit jarring for all of us,” he shrugged ruefully. “I guess the state of these cities kind of just pushed me over the edge. The planet was never meant to look like this.”

            Harry reached for his glass of water and hid a smile behind the rim, his eyes catching on the professor’s extremely pleased smile. Eggsy had him hook, line, and sinker.

            The conversation continued on for a bit, Harry pitching in every once in a while when the other two weren’t busy talking each other’s ears off. When Arnold excused himself to the restroom, Eggsy suddenly drew closer to Harry, his lips beside the older man’s ear.

            “There’s a scar on his neck,” Eggsy murmured softly, making sure to keep a small smile on his face so as to fool anyone who looked at them into thinking they were flirting. “Small, below his left ear. Looks recent enough.”

            Harry turned to face him, their faces close together. “Could he possibly have gotten it during an altercation?”

            “No, the cut’s too clean. Looks nearly surgical.” Eggsy leaned forward and nuzzled at Harry’s neck as he continued to talk. “Souvenir from Valentine?”

            “Possibly.” Harry felt his lashes flutter at the sensation of soft breathing on the skin of his neck. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the professor coming back. Both Eggsy and Harry pulled away sheepishly, twin smiles of embarrassment adorning their faces as Arnold retook his seat.

            “Oh please, don’t be embarrassed,” the other man chuckled as he took his seat. “It’s good to see romance alive and well in this world. You mentioned not seeing each other often?” he asked them.

            “Yes, my work keeps me in London,” Harry nodded. “When Charles was accepted into his graduate program, we had to make a few compromises.”

            “Only a bit more to go before I come back home,” Eggsy smiled at Harry.

            Harry ignored the small tug in his chest at those words.

            “Speaking of graduate school, I was a bit curious about one of your papers, actually,” Eggsy continued as the food arrived. “The one about Gaia theory.”

            “Ah yes,” the professor nodded enthusiastically. “You said your thesis paper had some sort of relation to it?”

            “Yes; I was actually wondering if you could possibly explain it to me in more detail.”

            “Well see here,” the professor shifted in his seat excitedly, “when a human is ill, we develop a fever as a result of the virus, correct?” At Eggsy’s nod, he continued. “Well, the earth functions very much in the same way; the earth is the host, and we as people are the virus. All of these issues with global warming and drastic temperature changes, _that_ is the planet’s way of signalling an infection, a fever.”

            Harry and Eggsy exchanged a glance, a thousand words passing through that one moment.

            The professor continued on without noticing. “There’s really only two ways this could end; the virus – us humans – kills the host – planet earth – or the host kills the virus. In any case, the result ends up the same, doesn’t it?”


	5. This is Gettin' Out of Hand

            Eggsy glanced at the small pug in his arms, his heart lifting at the sniffles the tiny creature was making. He ignored the looks the other gits were sending him, focussing solely on his new puppy and the woman standing at his right side.

            “You know that’s a pug, right?” he could hear the smile in Roxy’s voice though he knew she meant no harm with the comment.

            “’Course I do,” he shrugged his shoulders, holding the puppy closer. “I like pugs. You shouldn’ underestimate ‘em,” he told her. “Poodle,” he nodded towards her own choice. “Gun dogs, righ’?”

            She smiled brightly and looked down at her own puppy. Eggsy knew then with certainty that Roxy would be getting Lancelot’s position. He couldn’t say why, but Bond always told him to trust his own instincts.

            “Eggsy!” Merlin’s voice called to him from the balcony. “A word, if you’d please?”

            Eggsy nodded and started moving forward, puppy still in his arms, when Roxy’s low voice stopped him. “You don’t have to tell me what’s going on,” she told him quietly. “Just tell me you’re alright?” Her face was stoic but her eyes revealed she knew more than she was letting on.

            Yes. She was going to be a great Lancelot. “All good,” he confirmed with a smirk. He took the steps to the balcony two at a time, his arms still wrapped securely around his newest charge.

            “I hope you realise that’s not a bulldog,” Merlin commented once Eggsy had reached him, the two of them stepping inside and closing the glass doors behind them. The younger man followed Merlin through a maze of hallways, his mind subconsciously memorising the route to wherever it was they were going.

            “Yes, I did realise tha’, thank you Merlin.” Eggsy hugged the puppy closer to his chest. “I like pugs,” he repeated as they finally entered another room, the door closing behind them.

            “One should not underestimate small dogs,” a voice said from further inside. Eggsy turned and felt his heart flutter as he caught sight of Harry. The older man was standing next to the fireplace, glasses on his face and trusty umbrella at his side. “They tend to surprise people,” he smiled at Eggsy.

            “A pug, Unwin? Really?” Bond piped up from his seat on the furthest armchair. He sat as if he owned the room, with one leg stretched leisurely over the other. “I thought I taught you better than that.”

            “I like pugs,” Eggsy whined, the puppy in his arms curiously observing the environment around him.

            “At least you’re not in those blasted jackets,” Bond muttered darkly, his eyes critically observing the younger man’s outfit.

            “Nah, those are in the dorms downstairs!” Eggsy’s face was adorned with a mega-watt smile as his mentor scowled.

            “I’ll burn this place _and_ those jackets to the ground before I ever see you wearing one again. I’m already getting war flashbacks.” He shuddered at the memories of having to put up with training the young man while he wore the most deplorable outfits.

            “This is great and all, but we don’t have a very large window of time,” another voice joined them. Eggsy turned to see Q sitting at a table he hadn’t previously noticed. “We could only detain Arthur from coming here for a short amount of time and it won’t be long before someone notices that intruders are on the premises.” He had three laptops pulled up in front of him, each screen covered in something different.

            “Right,” Merlin nodded and gestured for the others to join the young head of Q-branch around the table. “There’s been a slight development,” he started once everyone had moved closer. He spared one more glance at the sniffling puppy before continuing. “Eggsy, Harry, your meeting with the professor went brilliantly and the intel you brought back has been extremely useful. We think we’re heading in the right direction, but it’s still impossible to tell what exact plan Valentine has cooked up.”

            Eggsy preened slightly and glanced at the man who stood beside him, his eyes taking in Harry’s tall form. He yelped however when he felt a hand smack the back of his head. He snapped his gaze to the left and glared at Bond.

            “Gloating doesn’t suit you,” the MI6 agent sniffed haughtily.

            “Yeah, ‘cause it suits _you_ so well,” Eggsy grumbled sarcastically as he rubbed at the injury while holding the pug with one arm, consequently missing the fond look Harry sent his way.

            “009,” Q started, his thin fingers tapping away at his keyboards, “you were right about the scar. The line is too precise to be anything but surgical.” On the screen, video feed from the restaurant was pulled up and paused at a specific point. Q enlarged the picture until the scar in question came to focus. “Thought it also doesn’t seem to be made by any sort of knife.”

            “Are we certain it’s related to Valentine?” Harry asked as he observed the photo.

            “Not at the moment no, but I’ve been going through video footage of Professor Arnold from right before the kidnapping, and there was no evidence of a scar then.” Q pulled up another picture for comparison. “Whatever he got it from, it happened during the time he disappeared.”

            “What if there are others?” Eggsy suddenly voiced.

            The three other men turned to look at him curiously.

            “Well think abou’ it,” Eggsy began explaining, “there’s a whole slew of celebrities and high profile persons going missin’, righ’? What if there were others like Arnold? Others that wen’ missin’ but appeared again before anyone else noticed?”

            Merlin gaped at him slightly.

            “My, my, you’re growing fast,” Bond commented lightly, a smirk on his handsome face.

            “Q, I don’t suppose you could filter through Valentine’s entourage and see if you can find anyone else with similar markings?” Harry asked him.

            “That might take a while, but it’s certainly doable,” the young man nodded, pushing his glasses further up his nose while he typed.

            “Have we gotten anything on Valentine himself? Besides the obvious, of course?” Bond shifted and placed his hands in his pockets, his eyes taking in the shifting images on the screens.

            “Not as of yet,” Q grit through his teeth. “His network’s security system is proving to be… _slightly_ challenging. I can tell you this however,” he pulled up an image of Valentine standing beside a stunning woman. “This is Gazelle. She appears to be Valentine’s personal bodyguard as well as the head of security for his entire empire.”

            “Is that an angle we can work on?” Merlin asked the young man.

            “Probably not,” he shook his head. “But she’s extremely dangerous; we’ll have to take extra care around her.”

            “Alright,” Merlin nodded. “It seems Valentine will be hosting a gala soon. Is there any way to get some sort of invitation?”

“We might be able to get something through the professor,” Q suggested. “If not, then I can always find an alternative solution.”

“Have we gotten anywhere with Arthur?” Harry’s voice was smooth and even, though his tight jaw suggested how much the subject truly unnerved him.

“Nothing on that front either,” Merlin shook his head despairingly. “Whatever he’s doing, he’s being very careful with his movements.”

“Should we be worried abou’ runnin’ into him anywhere?” Eggsy suddenly asked. “If we’re tryin’ to get closer to Valentine, won’t we eventually run into him?”

“We’ll be running interference for such cases,” Q reassured him. “Whenever we send you on a mission, we’ll be creating an alternate diversion for Arthur which will busy him elsewhere.”

Eggsy nodded as he continued holding on to his puppy. He trusted Q; if he said something could be done, then he believed him.

 “Okay, we can figure this out from here. Eggsy? We should be getting you back to the others,” Merlin turned to the young agent.

            “I’ll accompany him,” Harry spoke up, already picking up his umbrella and readying himself to leave. “There are a few things we didn’t have a chance to discuss after the meeting with Arnold.”

            Eggsy smiled sheepishly and began to follow him, ignoring the grumblings he could hear emanating from his mentor. They left the others to their discussions and exited the room together.

            “We were in such a rush to get you back to HQ after the meeting that we didn’t have a chance to discuss what happened.”

            The young man nodded and waited for Harry to elaborate as they continued walking.

“Professor Arnold seemed quite taken with you,” Harry admitted. “Have you had a chance to communicate with him since then?”

“There was an email or two,” Eggsy confirmed. “I’m hopin’ that keepin’ up with the subject might earn us an invitation to any of Valentine’s events since the two of ‘em share _interests_ ,” he admitted.

“Good, continue on that front. We’ll try to smooth things over on our end,” Harry told him.

They continued walking for a while before a light hand at his hip stopped Eggsy in his tracks. He willed his cheeks not to burn red as he turned to face Harry, the puppy clutched to his chest in a semblance of protection.

            “I wanted to let you know that you did wonderfully at the restaurant,” Harry spoke up after a tense moment. “You are a very talented agent, and you would have been a great asset to Kingsman had things gone differently.”

            Eggsy’s eyes widened at the words. “Harry…” he trailed off uncertainly. The air between them was charged and the younger man could feel the blood rushing in his veins. Harry’s hand was still pressing gently against his hip and Eggsy could feel intense heat emanating from the point of contact.

            They were interrupted suddenly by the pug’s loud yapping, the noise startling them both into taking a step away from each other. They looked down at the dog to see him staring back, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

            “Seems your new friend is getting rather hungry,” Harry smiled gently. “Let’s get you back to the others.”

            Eggsy nodded slowly and watched as Harry started walking. The younger man could feel his nerves trying to calm down, his limbs still shaking with residual adrenaline.

            _This is getting’ out of hand_ , Eggsy thought to himself as he swallowed harshly. What he thought was merely admiration on his own part was starting to reveal itself as something more.


	6. Chester King

            Harry walked through the door of the Kingsman tailor shop on Saville Row, the bell ringing as he made his entrance, and his black umbrella swinging at his side.

            “Good morning sir,” the man at the counter greeted him. “Arthur is expecting you in the dining room.”

            Harry nodded and appeared outwardly calm at the request; internally however, was a different story. He hadn’t seen nor spoken to Arthur since Mycroft Holmes had revealed the man as a traitor. While he could not imagine what the man possibly wanted to see him for, Harry was uncertain he would be able to behave like a gentleman in front of someone who was partially responsible for the death of his good friend. He wondered if it would not be wiser to make an excuse and leave, but he knew that would only make matters more conspicuous.

            He took the steps one at a time, restricting his volatile emotions by remembering what was at stake; it wasn’t enough to take Arthur down. No, they needed to get to the source. That wouldn’t happen if Harry were to listen to his instincts and snap Chester King’s neck right where he stood.

            Chester King didn’t deserve to die so fast and so painlessly.

            He reached the dining room and, after another moment of reminding himself to behave normally, he pushed open the doors and stepped in as though nothing was different. He had only taken a few steps when he noticed that he and Arthur were not alone.

            “Eggsy,” Harry greeted with surprise. His brown eyes glanced between Arthur and the younger man, both seated at the large table; his mind was already judging whether or not the situation merited a code red warning to one Mycroft Holmes.

            “Harry,” Eggsy greeted in return, his demeanour calm enough that the older man felt his instincts respond in kind. The young agent was sitting in Harry’s usual seat, his baggy jeans and large jacket at odds with the posh furnishings of the room.

            “Ah, Galahad,” Arthur looked at him from his seat the head of the table. Harry had to resist the urge to grab the gun from his holster and shoot the other man down where he was. “I hope you don’t mind, I was just getting to know your young recruit a little better. I was under the impression that you wouldn’t be submitting anyone for candidacy.”

            “Arthur,” Harry nodded at him. “No, I wasn’t going to, but things have a manner of changing.” He forced a smile onto his face.

            “Yes, _Eggsy_ here was just telling me how the two of you came to be acquainted,” he gestured to the younger man at his right side. To anyone else, Arthur would have looked genuinely pleasant with that smile on his face, but Harry knew better. The old man was not impressed.

            “Yeah, I was jus’ tellin’ him about you comin’ to save me arse from bein’ jailed,” Eggsy turned to smile at him. “Would’ve been locked away for two years if you hadn’ shown up when you did.”

            Harry simply smiled without saying anything. He would let Eggsy take the reins for this specific confrontation. He was unable to muster the energy to keep acting the same way around the man who used to be his own mentor.

            “That is a rather… interesting story,” Arthur attempted to hide a sneer behind a smile. “What was it that made you want to become a Kingsman agent?”

            “Well Harry here said I had a lo’ of potential,” Eggsy smirked crookedly. “Said I could give meself a better life if I made the effort for it. So here I am.”

            “Charming.” Arthur was barely even trying to hide his disdain at that point. “And how is your dear mother doing?”

            Harry knew he had to force himself to intervene when he caught sight of Eggsy’s face. The young man’s usually joyful face was drained of all colour and emotion. For all that he was a good spy, Eggsy’s family was the one weakness he could not overcome. Every agent had such a weakness; Harry should know. His own weakness had fathered the man sitting at his seat. He knew with certainty that he would never get over causing the death of Lee Unwin.

            “Arthur I’m so sorry to interrupt,” Harry butted in before the conversation could continue, “but Eggsy and I have a standing appointment in fitting room number three. I’m afraid there isn’t much time before I have to return him to his fellow candidates and their training.”

            “Of course. Please, don’t mind the ramblings of an old man,” Arthur chuckled. The sound grated harshly on Harry’s ears. “It’s just as well, I have an appointment I need to be getting to.”

            “Was nice meetin’ you, sir,” Eggsy nodded and stood up, joining Harry at the entrance. Just as they were about to step outside the room, Arthur’s voice piped up one last time.

            “Good luck Eggsy,” he said. It did not sound very sincere. “Galahad?”

            Harry turned to face the man, his expression neutral despite the rage he felt. “Yes, Arthur?”

            “Merlin will be briefing you on a mission shortly. I expect you to be suited up and ready to go by the end of the day,” the old man said as he stood up from his chair and buttoned his jacket.

            “Of course Arthur.” Harry placed his hand at the small of Eggsy’s back and guided the tense man out before any other word could be exchanged. They took the stairs down and he led the younger man to Fitting Room Three, nodding at the clerk manning the desk before stepping in.

            “Merlin, has Arthur left yet?” Harry spoke up, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

            “He’s gone just now, Galahad,” Merlin confirmed over the communications. “I’ve secured the line as well as the shop’s surveillance footage. He won’t be able to see or hear anything we don’t want him to.”

            “What mission is it?” he asked while keeping an eye on his distressed young charge.

            “It’s a simple search-and-extract mission. I’m looking into it, but the target seems to have ties to someone who might be involved with Valentine in some sort of way.”

            “Keep me posted on what you find. I’ll be signing off for a little bit,” he commented as he took in Eggsy’s still pale face. “If there’s an emergency, call the shop and have them alert me.”

            “Of course,” Merlin agreed before the line went silent.

            Harry pulled the glasses off and folded them, placing them in the breast-pocket of his suit.

            “Come on,” Harry said as he pulled on the hook furthest to the left. The mirror in front of them opened and Eggsy stepped in without paying any mind to the hidden door, his footsteps shaky and somewhat hesitant.

            “D’you think he knows?” Eggsy turned to face him once the mirror had closed behind them. The pale light above the sinks illuminated the blue shade of the young man’s eyes, making them appear bigger and brighter. “About me not bein’ home in nearly two years? Do you think that’s makin’ him suspicious?”

            “Eggsy,” Harry started, “you don’t strike me as the type of agent who gets nervous with one comment.” It was true. Harry had seen the younger man lie his way through all sorts of situations within the last few weeks alone. Eggsy’s family might be a sensitive issue, but it didn’t explain his strong reaction to Arthur's words.

            “I’m usually workin’ with an alias,” Eggsy shuddered slightly as though he were cold. “Arthur knows my real name. He knows who my family is. If me mum and sis get in trouble because of me –”

            Harry’s heart clenched as he finally understood the root of the other man’s fears. “We know the risk you’re taking by doing this, Eggsy.” He moved forward and gently grabbed hold of Eggsy by his shoulders. “Merlin and Q are doing their very best to make sure no harm comes to your family.”

            The younger man took a deep breath and nodded, his eyes still unfocussed.

            “Was everything alright in there?” Harry led him further into the hidden room, past the sinks and into the actual armoury. He seated the young man on the bench in the middle.

            “Yeah,” Eggsy nodded. He seemed to be getting a bit of his colour back, the previous panic that had taken hold of him finally lessening. “He caught me on my way in, said he wanted to get to know me better.”

            Harry sighed dejectedly and shook his head. He should have known that bringing Eggsy in under Arthur’s nose wasn’t going to be easy. The man was as arrogant and pompous as he ever was. He would never approve of Eggsy on the basis of his family’s background. Arthur had been the same with the boy’s father.

            “Harry,” Eggsy suddenly spoke up, his eyes lifting to meet the older man’s brown ones. “He had a scar on his neck. Just like Arnold’s.”

            The agent felt the breath knock out of his lungs. Both the professor and Arthur; the scars couldn’t be a coincidence. Now they just needed to wait for Q to confirm it.

            “I’m so sorry Harry.” Eggsy was standing close to him now. Harry knew he must have really been out of it if he hadn’t heard the younger man stand up and move forward. “Even with all of this, I was hopin’ we’d made a mistake…”

            Harry shook his head despite the disbelief that continued to take over him. “No. No, it’s better that we found out this way. It could’ve been much worse.”

            There was silence between them for a moment before Eggsy spoke up again. “You’re goin’ on a mission?” he asked quietly.

            Harry nodded slowly. “Yes, I’ll be leaving tonight.”

            “Right,” Eggsy looked at his feet and then let his gaze drift around the room. “So this is your armoury?” he changed the subject, a smile forcing itself onto his face.

            “Yes, quite beautiful, isn’t it?” Harry glanced at the walls covered in gadgets, a gentle look of pride on his face. “Though I’m certain MI6 could give us a run for our money,” he chuckled.

            “Don’t let Merlin hear you say that,” Eggsy laughed honestly. The colour was finally returning to his face.

            “Dear god, never,” Harry took on an affronted expression. “He’d send me out with nothing but a toothpick and a box of matches for my next mission.”

            Eggsy gave him a look. “Why does that sound like it’s happened before,” he raised an eyebrow.

            “Because it has. Terrible experience,” Harry shuddered. He felt better hearing the young man’s laughter. “I should let you know, 007 was right about those jackets of yours.”

            “Oi!” Eggsy giggled, “these jackets are nice!”

            “My dear boy I hope you are not being serious.”

            “The two of you have such delicate sensibilities when it comes to fashion,” Eggsy sniffed good-naturedly and shrugged his shoulders. “No worries, I wear suits most of the time anyway.”

            The two of them hadn’t noticed that over the course of their conversation, they’d drifted closer together to the point where they were nearly standing chest to chest. The older man found himself unable to keep from reaching out once more for the other, his hands settling on Eggsy’s arms, right above his elbows. Galahad truly didn’t understand himself at all in that moment.

            “Harry,” Eggsy let out a long sigh and let his head drop forward so that he was gently nuzzling against the older agent’s neck.

            Harry could swear his heart clenched and sped up when he felt light kisses being pressed along the tender skin behind his ear.

            Eggsy moved closer and wrapped his own arms around Harry’s waist, his fingers clenching tightly in the suit’s fabric. His kisses had reached the edge of the other man’s jaw and he showed no signs of stopping.

            “Eggsy,” Harry breathed, his right hand coming up to cradle Eggsy’s cheek softly as the younger man’s lips reached the corner of his mouth. He let his thumb brush gently against the soft skin, the younger man letting out an appreciative moan at the action. Both men paused there, the air tense and electric between them.

            “Can I?” Eggsy asked softly. They were standing so close together that Harry felt the words against his mouth, the other’s soft lips brushing against his with every movement.

            “I’m an old man, Eggsy,” Harry told him quietly, shivering as the words brought their mouths into contact once more. “You deserve so much better than this.”

Eggsy shook his head slightly, a frown on his face. “No, no. That’s no’ a reason.”

Despite Harry’s earlier words, he found himself leaning forward slightly and catching the younger man’s top lip between his before releasing it, the kiss light and quick. His stomach quelled with excitement as Eggsy let out a tortured moan; Harry could feel the sound of it reverberating through his own chest from where they were pressed together.

            “Please,” Eggsy whispered, tightening his arms around Harry’s strong waist.

            Just as Harry felt himself giving in, the door to the armoury buzzed lightly as it opened a fraction, allowing whoever was outside to speak through the door without seeing inside the room. “Sir,” the clerk’s voice sounded through apologetically, “there is a phone call coming through for you. I have been told to let you know that it is urgent.”

            Harry closed his eyes and sighed dejectedly, his heart sinking down to his feet. He pressed his forehead to Eggsy’s and breathed for a moment.

            “Sir?” the clerk called out again.

            “I’ll be right there,” Harry swallowed harshly and finally answered him.

            “Of course sir.” The door was closed behind him as he left.

            The silence between them was heavy but both did not want to break it; breaking the silence meant having to acknowledge the moment, and it meant having to let Harry go.

            “They’re waiting for me,” Harry finally said, but made no move to pull away from Eggsy.

            The younger man nodded and hugged his arms tightly around Harry’s waist one more time before lifting his hands to the other agent’s face and holding him there. “Be careful, yeah?” he murmured. “You have somethin’ to come back for.”

            “Is that a promise?” Harry kissed him gently once more. He knew they would have to talk about this when he came back, but this would have to be enough for now.

            “’S’more than a promise,” Eggsy spoke against his lips.

            Yes, they would definitely have to talk about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I'm the only one who noticed just how gentle Colin Firth is when he kisses someone


	7. Don't Break

            Eggsy’s footsteps echoed as he walked through the hallways of Kingsman HQ, his breathing loud and harsh in the otherwise surprisingly quiet mansion. He had but one destination in mind, a confusing mantra of ‘ _Get there fast, get there fast_ ’ and ‘ _Don’t go there, it can’t be true_ ’ continuously running through his head and giving him a severe headache.

            His feet froze however once he finally reached the right door. He was still conflicted; if he went it, he would have to face the inevitable truth of the situation, and Eggsy wasn’t certain he could handle it at that point.

            The choice was taken out of his hands a near five minutes later when the door was opened from the other side.

            “Eggsy,” Merlin greeted him gravelly. The bespectacled man stood aside and made room for the younger man to enter.

            Eggsy swallowed harshly, still rooted to the same spot. “I don’t…” he coughed nervously. “I don’t think I can come in right now.”

            Merlin looked confused for a second before understanding suddenly washed over his face. “He… he doesn’t look all that bad, to be honest,” he commented before shaking his head self-deprecatingly. “What am I saying, of course he looks bloody terrible,” Merlin laughed harshly, his shoulders sagging. “I can understand if you don’t want to come in –”

            “Merlin, Eggsy,” a new voice greeted them, forcing both men to interrupt their conversation in order to turn and face the latest arrival.

            Eggsy could feel the blood starting to boil in his veins, his previously numb limbs suddenly itching for a vicious fight. There was Arthur, walking down the hall towards the infirmary with a sullen look on his face, as though he weren’t the one responsible for this entire ordeal in the first place. Before Eggsy could even think of doing anything drastic however, light fingers had closed around his wrist in warning. He turned to glance at Merlin, the older man sending him a barely perceptible shake of his head to indicate that he shouldn’t do anything stupid. The MI6 agent gulped down his rage and exhaled the air that had accumulated in his lungs, his fingers clenching to keep from shaking with built-up adrenaline.

            Arthur came to a halt where Eggsy and Merlin still stood at the threshold of Harry’s room, his gaze darting to both of them. “How is he, Merlin?” he finally chose to address his fellow Kingsman agent, foregoing a conversation with the younger man.

            “It’s still hard to say, sir.” To anyone else, Merlin would have merely appeared worried for the sake of his friend, but Eggsy knew better. He was trained to observe these sorts of signs and he could tell that the other man was also holding himself back from doing anything idiotic.

            They couldn’t afford to let the plan fall apart, no matter how much they both wanted to destroy Arthur in that moment. Unfortunately, the head of Kingsman was not their primary target.

            Eggsy bit his lip to the point of injury when Arthur stepped into the room; that prick wouldn’t get the chance to go anywhere near Harry if Eggsy had a say in it.

            “Do we know what’s wrong with him?” the old man asked once the other two finally joined him.

            Eggsy barely heard a word they exchanged as he took in Harry’s figure on the hospital bed, tubes attached to a respirator leading to his mouth, different IV cords littering his arms, heart monitor beating steadily in the corner. He felt like he was going to throw up at the sight of the normally strong man suddenly rendered so weak.

            _You said you were gon’ be careful_ , Eggsy thought to himself as a prickling sensation began to build up behind his eyes.

            “Is he gonna be alrigh’?” he turned to face Merlin, unmindful of having interrupted their conversation. He ignored the glare Arthur sent his way; Eggsy had no time to care about manners.

            “Nothing would suggest otherwise,” Merlin shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “The tests came back clean. For all intents and purposes, he should be awake by now.”

            “Right,” Eggsy nodded and clenched his jaw. “If you’ll excuse me,” he swallowed harshly and turned to leave. He had people to go see.

            Barely an hour later, Eggsy was barging into the office of one Mycroft Holmes, the door banging loudly behind him.

            Holmes didn’t even have the decency to look surprised. The other man was calmly sitting in his chair, his hands folded over the desk with an air of patience; clearly he had been expecting the interruption.

            “What’s your plan for this then, hm?” Eggsy spat out, his finger pointing menacingly at the seated man. “You jus’ gon’ leave ‘im like tha’?!”

            “009, please have a seat,” Mycroft indicated the chair in front of the desk. “We have a few things we need to discuss.”

            Eggsy was about to protest violently when another person walked through the door, their gait composed and confident.

            “Just listen to the man,” the words left Bond’s mouth as he stalked closer to his protégé. “You’ll get all the answers you’re looking for, Eggsy,” 007 told him once he’d gotten closer, his voice pitched low between them. “For now though, try to calm down and not break anything.” He nodded towards the seat and waited for the younger man to reluctantly take it. Bond made sure to stand right by Eggsy’s shoulder in a show of solidarity.

            For all that he tried to pretend otherwise, James Bond was not a man blind to emotions. He’d seen the way his protégé looked at Harry Hart, with a gaze full of awe and the stirrings of something stronger. It was the same way he himself used to look at Vesper. He knew the young man sitting in front of him was most likely suffering greatly below the surface despite the anger Eggsy was trying to display instead.

            “007, thank you for coming on such short notice,” Mycroft greeted him. “M has told me that you had varying successes with your latest missions?”

            “I’m afraid there wasn’t much besides what the reports had initially indicated,” Bond confirmed. “No traces left behind, no witness accounts. We’re grasping at nothing right now.”

            “Right,” Mycroft nodded tiredly. The man sighed and sat back further in his seat, his previously unaffected air disappearing. “009,” he addressed the young man who was silently seething in his chair. “I understand that this is a rough situation at the moment –”

            “You let ‘im go there knowin’ wha’ was goin’ to happen,” Eggsy spat. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore. “You let ‘im get hurt!” He was stopped from venting further when his mentor’s hand found its way to his shoulder and squeezed tightly in reassurance.

            “Make no mistake of this, 009,” Mycroft’s shoulders were tense. “We had no idea what Arthur’s plan was when he sent Galahad out on this mission. Had we known that this would be the result, we would have arranged for a suitable extraction –”

            “Tha’ don’t change nothin’.” He hated feeling this way. Hated not being able to control his emotions. Hated that he was automatically reverting back to his old way of speaking because he couldn’t force him mouth to form the proper words. He just wanted Harry back.

            “Eggsy, you need to continue with the mission as planned.” Bond hated doing this to the younger man while he was suffering, but he couldn’t let Eggsy become the mess 007 had been following Vesper. He had to get the younger man to focus on a goal in order to keep him from fracturing further. “Continue with the tests the same way you would have if Harry were still awake. You can’t break now,” he said the last part low enough that only Eggsy could hear him. “If you break now, they get away with this.”

            It was a moment before the younger agent spoke up again. “I continue with the tests while you all do wha’ exactly?” his voice was strained, as though it took every ounce of energy for him to be able to speak.

            “While we each do what we were meant to do,” Mycroft gazed at him seriously. “We will continue to locate sources for Valentine’s plan, and you will continue to climb the ranks within Kingsman. I’m afraid there isn’t much more we _can_ do without a solid lead, 009.”

            “Wha’ was it that knocked him out?” the younger man finally voiced his question, unsure if he even wanted the answer.

            “As far as we know, he had made contact with a potential lead,” Mycroft sagged back tiredly in his chair, a sight that was rarely ever witnessed. “Arthur is still keeping up appearances by attempting to track down Lancelot’s killer, but he seems to have willingly lured Galahad into a dangerous situation which, for all intents and purposes, should have killed him.”

            Eggsy felt his chest constrict painfully at the words.

            “Unfortunately, Galahad’s video feed is virtually impossible to access at the moment. Q is having a right field day trying to bypass the security,” Mycroft sighed heavily. “I believe our dear Quartermaster will be having strong words with him once Galahad’s awake.”

            Eggsy heard his mentor chuckle lightly behind him at the image the words caused.

            “As it stands, we have no idea what could have possibly caused Galahad to end up as he has. In the meantime however,” the older man continued as he straightened back up in his chair with a sigh, “we will continue exactly as planned.” Mycroft stared him down with hard eyes. “We have no other choice.”

            No matter how angry he was, Eggsy knew they were both right. Harry would be avenged, but in order to do that, they would have to figure out how to get to the core of Valentine’s plan.

            Bond was also right. He couldn’t break. Not then.


	8. Mentors and Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the rather short update! Exams and projects have been kicking my ass -___-

            Eggsy dutifully followed Bond out of the mansion, sticking to his side as they approached his mentor’s Aston Martin. He wordlessly slipped into the passenger side, closing the door with a loud huff and sinking down further into his seat.

            “Are we back to being petulant children, then?” 007 remarked with a smirk as he revved the engine and pulled away from the sinister house. “You look like a five year old who didn’t get his way.”

            “Don’t go fuckin’ with me righ’ now, James,” Eggsy seethed, his anger ever-present. “Harry’s lyin’ there with tubes and machines keepin’ him alive because of some fuckin’ asshole who was meant to be protectin’ him!” By the end of his sentence, Eggsy was yelling the words into the car’s small space, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. He didn’t care how many times he had to repeat the argument; it still stood.

            James pursed his lips and glanced at his young charge before returning his focus to the roads. “Eggsy,” James started quietly. “Galahad is a Kingsman agent. He knew what he was getting into, just like the rest of us know. It is, after all, an essential part of our jobs.”

            “He’s s’posed to be safe when it comes to his own people,” the younger man muttered and swallowed harshly, his eyes prickling slightly. He blinked repeatedly to keep the feeling from spreading.

            “In a perfect world, he would be,” James glanced at him again. “But you of all people know just how full of crap the real world is.”

            Eggsy shook his head despairingly but chose not to respond. There was no true way to answer anyhow. No matter what anyone told him, 009 was convinced that if he’d tried enough, if he’d held onto Harry a bit more, then the older man wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place.

            “I… understand that Galahad means more to you than you’re letting on,” James spoke up once more, the highway blurring past them as they drove on. “No, don’t try to convince me otherwise,” he smirked when he caught sight of Eggsy flustered and trying to defend himself. “I trained you myself; I could spot a lie coming out of you even when you’ve managed to convince _yourself_ that it must be true.”

            Eggsy opened and closed his mouth a few times, the proper words escaping him. He knew his mentor wasn’t blind, but he hadn’t even truly gotten around to admitting his feelings to himself.

            “You’re not the only one to have ever gone through a situation like this.”

            The younger man turned to stare at his mentor in surprise. The memories he was referring to were obviously painful; that much was evident by Bond’s grimace at the confession.

            “There was a woman once, before you joined MI6,” 007 continued, his piercing blue eyes eerily focussed on the road in front of him. This wasn’t a subject he talked about under normal circumstances. “Things… did not end well, and I wasn’t the same for a very long time. Galahad hasn’t reached that point of no return, Eggsy,” the man glanced at him briefly, a wry smile on his face. “Don’t do this to yourself when you don’t need to.”

            “Will I always be this scared?” Eggsy asked him quietly.

            “The moment you stop feeling fear is the moment you have nothing left to lose, Unwin,” James sighed deeply, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. “I hope that never happens to you.”

            To anyone else, such a sentiment would have left mixed feelings, but Eggsy knew exactly what his mentor was trying to say. He thought of his mum,  of little Daisy whom he’d never even had a chance to meet yet; he thought of Roxy, who was growing to be a dear friend, and of Merlin who happened to be as brilliant as his name suggested. He thought of James and Q, who’d constantly helped him throughout his training and stuck with him all the way. He thought of Harry and the kiss they had shared before the older man had left on his mission.

            He would always fear for them, not matter how good some of them were at defending themselves. If losing his fear meant losing them, then he’d rather spend the rest of his life terrified.

            With those thoughts in mind, Eggsy went back to Kingsman HQ with a renewed determination. He didn’t make a fuss when he saw Harry’s nearly still form in the hospital bed on a daily basis, his brain clawing at him to try and _do something_ , _fix it_. He passed the tests quietly and with reserve, his pen scratching lightly at the paper, JB sitting next to him. It wasn’t until they were getting ready to jump out of a plane that Eggsy broke slightly from the trance that had kept him prisoner since Harry was returned to them in that state.

            “Rox, you alrigh’?” he took in her pale face from where she sat opposite him. “You’ve jumped before, haven’ you?”

            “Yeah, yes,” she nodded her head. “Just not a big fan of it.”

            Eggsy opted to stay with his friend when the others pushed past her and jumped ahead. “Come on, Rox! You’ve got this! Just watch!” He stepped up to the opening and let himself fall with a smile on his face, his first sign of emotion in weeks. He just loved parachuting. It wasn’t long before she jumped after him.

But of course, as all things Kingsman, nothing could be as easy as jumping out of an airplane with a parachute strapped to your back.

            Nope. They really had to send one of them off without one.

            Once they’d finally made it safely to the ground, Eggsy patted Roxy’s arm in solidarity, his own body already aching from the abrupt landing. He watched as Charlie landed in the K as well, the ma whooping with joy at having passed the test. It took only a moment for the rest of the candidates to join them, but the MI6 agent was busy glaring at Merlin as he sent Charlie and Roxy on their way and the others home.

            “Are you tryin’ to kill me then? I get that I ain’t supposed to pass, but this is sorta pushin’ it, no?” he continued to glare at the bespectacled man once the others were back inside the building.

            Merlin sighed at the question and beckoned him closer with a serious expression on his face. When Eggsy was close enough, he spoke in a low voice, “You better take that chip off your shoulder.” He then pulled at the younger man’s parachute, deploying it and causing Eggsy to fall backward with a surprised expression on his face. “Harry was right,” Merlin nodded to himself with a smirk. “You would’ve made a great Kingsman agent. Though I suppose that is why MI6 recruited you instead.” He tilted his head in contemplation before shrugging his shoulders and walking away, his eyes already drawn to the tablet in his hands.

            A few days later, somewhere on the other side of the mansion, Harry found himself waking to the impersonal infirmary room. He was choking slightly on the tube that was shoved down his throat to help him breathe, something which would have given anyone else a heart attack, but he was beyond panicking at that moment. Besides, it certainly wasn’t the first time that he’d woken in such a situation. As it was, it took all of his strength to finally lift his arm up and press at the button on his chest; he let his head fall back against the pillow, exhausted at energy it took him for such simple movements.

            There were so many things to do, but he knew that there would be no rest for him until he took care of certain things. One thing in particular being a promise that had been made to him; he intended to collect on it. 


	9. On the Backburner

Harry stared at his reflection in the mirror; he took in his hair which had grown exponentially while he was down for the count. He took in the lines at the corner of his eyes, the ones around his mouth. Time had passed him by and he had never truly taken notice of it until a much younger man had walked into his life and turned it upside down.

Galahad stared some more into his reflection and wondered how much longer he could keep going like this. How much longer would it be before he died in the line of duty? Most Kingsman agents never made it to the age retirement, and even when they did, they refused to stop.    He sighed and dragged his gaze away from his aged reflection, concentrating instead on grabbing the bottle of much needed after-shave and dropping some into the palm of his hand. It was just as he finished gently tapping the liquid onto his cheeks that the door to his infirmary room opened to reveal the very young man he’d been thinking about. He stepped in and closed the door behind him as Harry observed his reflection carefully.

“Eggsy,” Harry greeted him calmly even though he could’ve sworn his heart skipped several beats at the mere sight of the other. “Most gentlemen knock and wait for a response before entering,” he remarked casually.

“Manners aren’t exactly at the forefront of my mind at the moment.” Eggsy’s voice was clipped and cold. “You said you’d be careful,” he jumped straight to the point, his shoulders visibly tense.

“I certainly tried,” Harry nodded and turned to face the younger man, finally looking at him face to face after months of being trapped in the darkness of his mind. “However, I had not foreseen the extent of what was to happen; by the time I realised something was wrong, it was already too late.”

Eggsy’s jaw clenched and he looked as though he were about to start yelling before something entirely different escaped him. “You fuckin’ scared me,” he forced the words out, his gaze jittery as it jumped from place to place. “Ain’t no one had any idea what happened to you.”

“I’m sorry Eggsy.” And he truly was. It was never his intention to worry anyone, especially not the young man who stood in front of him. Before he could say anything else, Harry was forced to take a step back as the weight of another being crashed into him, arms coming up to hold him tightly by his waist.

“Jus’… don’t do tha’ again, yeah? Don’t let Arthur lure you into another trap.” Eggsy’s voice was muffled from where he had hid his face against Harry’s collarbone, the words crossing through layers of clothing and coming out in a hot breath against Harry’s skin.

Harry didn’t waste much time before lifting his own arms and wrapping them around the boy, his palms rubbing reassuring circles down the other’s back. “I’ll be more careful,” he told him truthfully. “But even you know that I cannot refuse a mission from Arthur without arousing any sort of suspicion.”

Eggsy’s body tensed against his. “I’ll kill ‘im,” the young man seethed. “I’ll fuckin’ kill ‘im if he tries anythin’. He wanted you dead, he sent you there on purpose that fuckin’ old wanker –” he spat out in anger before interrupting himself to take a deep breath.

Harry gave the younger man a questioning look as Eggsy pulled away from him slightly. To be honest, the Kingsman agent couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride and lust at having this younger man be so protective over an agent like himself; Galahad was more than capable of taking care of himself, but he was utterly charmed at Eggsy’s insistence at keeping him safe.

He was interrupted from his musings when Eggsy’s voice carried through to him. “I wanna kiss you,” the younger man told him seriously while looking into his eyes. “Will you let me?”

“Yes,” Harry swallowed harshly before a pair of lips crashed into his, stealing his breath away and making him melt at the same time.

Eggsy moaned helplessly, his hands grabbing at Harry’s robe and pulling him closer, their bodies pressing together.

Harry’s mind was completely blank, his body focussing solely on the boy in front of him. His mouth parted willingly when Eggsy’s tongue flicked against the seam of his lips, twin groans escaping them at the sensation. Harry could feel the heat building up in his lower stomach as their tongues finally met, his interest in the proceedings growing more and more evident.

Eggsy groaned and shifted, his body pulling them in the direction of the visitor’s chair he had occupied during his numerous visits, breaking their kiss to push Harry to sit down.

Harry took in the younger man’s flushed cheeks and blown pupils. His eyes drifted to where Eggsy’s chest moved with every breath he took, the one-piece Kingsman issued training suit doing nothing to hide the other’s obvious and growing hardness. He could not believe how beautiful the young man was.

Harry’s sharp intake of breath was involuntary when Eggsy approached him and sat down on his lap, his muscled legs straddling him on each side. They both swore aloud when the action brought their erections together, Eggsy moving forward to let his forehead rest against Harry’s. Harry could feel the young man’s tense limbs surrounding him as Eggsy held himself back from what he truly wanted to do.

“Is this alrigh’?” Eggsy asked him quietly, his voice strained. His arms had come back to rest around Harry’s broad shoulders, his fingers tangling with the long hair at Harry’s nape.

“More than alright,” Harry murmured back, his fingers sliding down Eggsy’s back and coming down to rest at the swell of his ample arse. He moved forward slightly to catch the younger man’s lips in a soft kiss. “Do you want to stop here?” he asked the boy, their lips catching together at the words.

“Fuck no,” Eggsy breathed out with a laugh before shifting his hips forward, his hardness rubbing insistently against Harry’s. The young man let out a choked moan and instinctively tightened his fingers in the delicate strands of hair, pulling at them with an involuntary motion.

Harry gasped at the action, his head tilting back to follow the pull. He felt Eggsy’s lips going to rest at the base of his neck, light kisses and nips pressing against the sensitive skin.

“Been waitin’ so long for this,” Eggsy mumbled softly, his teeth biting into the hollow of Harry’s throat before soothing it with a swipe of his tongue.

Galahad’s own fingers tightened around Eggsy’s arse at the words and pulled the younger man’s hips towards him.

“Fuck fuck fuck!” Eggsy swore, his tense limbs trembling. He pulled away from Harry’s neck and smashed their lips together fervently instead, his hips rolling forward repeatedly of their own volition.

The room was filled with the sound of heavy panting and broken moans. Eggsy keened slightly as he felt himself getting closer to his peak, his lips trailing against Harry’s in a semblance of a kiss.

Harry’s hands clenched around Eggsy’s arse again, his own hips shifting forward in response to press them even closer together. At this rate, Harry was going to come in his pants like a teenager, but he couldn’t care less if it meant he could continue to have Eggsy’s athletic form plastered all over him.

Fate was not with them however when a knock sounded loudly at the door.

“Fuck –” Eggsy gasped brokenly, his hips stuttering to a stop at the interruption.

“Damn it –” Harry cursed, resisting the urge to pull at Eggsy and continue regardless of whoever was at the door. He let his head fall forward against the younger man’s muscled shoulder in an attempt to calm his breathing down, but all he succeeded in doing was riling himself up even more as he was surrounded by Eggsy’s intoxicating scent. “Just a minute!” he called out to the intruder on the other side of the door while trying to will his erection down.

From his perch on Harry’s lap, Eggsy shook his head frantically, his heart beating rapidly where it was pressed against Harry’s chest. “Nope, not this time,” were the only words he said as he slid off Harry’s lap and down to his knees on the floor, crowding against the space between the older man’s open legs. His deft fingers grabbed at Harry’s robe and undid the rope that held the material together before pushing it aside and attacking the older man’s sleeping pants. He pulled the soft fabric down enough to free Harry’s straining hardness and wasted no time before falling forward and taking Harry passed his lips in one go.

Harry’s own mouth opened in a silent cry as the heat of Eggy’s tongue surrounded him; his hands grabbed at Eggsy’s head out of their own volition, his fingers unconsciously tangling in the short brown strands. Eggsy’s low moan of appreciation encouraged him to pull softly at the younger man’s hair as his head bobbed back and forth.

Harry let himself go when he felt Eggsy take him to the back of his throat and swallow around him; he was only human after all, and he doubted anyone else would have been able to last much longer under the ministrations of Eggsy’s mouth and tongue. He watched as Eggsy swallowed everything down before slowly moving away. He let the young man gently tuck him away and continued to watch as Eggsy redid the tie on Harry’s robe, slowly piecing the older man back together after having taken him apart so efficiently.

Harry moved to reach forward for Eggsy’s uniform to quickly return the favour, but the younger man grabbed hold of his hands, bringing them up to his lips and placing reverent kisses across scarred knuckles.

“It’s fine,” Eggsy mumbled against the soft skin before letting Harry’s hands drop gently. “Already taken care of.” The younger man blushed as Harry’s eyes dropped to his crotch with a raised eyebrow and a small, curious smile. “Sod off, I had a lot of time to let my thoughts go crazy while you were here sleepin’.” The words were said kindly however and Eggsy gave him another kind smile before moving over to the sink to wash his hands and pretend to occupy himself while Harry stood and made sure he was presentable.

“Come in,” he called out to whoever had waited patiently outside; he felt slightly bad for having ignored his manners in such a situation.

The door opened to reveal Merlin on the other side, his eyebrow raised as he caught sight of a slightly dishevelled Harry before letting his eyes flit to Eggsy’s form, the MI6 agent still washing his hands at the sink.

“Galahad,” Merlin greeted as he slowly stepped into the room, letting the door close behind him. “It’s good to have you back.”

“Thank you, Merlin,” Harry nodded at him.

“Eggsy, I see you came here straightaway,” Merlin addressed the younger man who had finally finished washing his hands and was merely resting against the sink while observing them.

Eggsy blushed but said nothing in response to Merlin’s growing smirk.

“Right, well,” Merlin said while attempting not to snicker at their obviousness, “Galahad, we’ve gone through your recordings and we’ve found something quite interesting. Not only that, but we’ve finally secured an invitation to Valentine’s gala through Eggsy’s continued correspondences with Professor Arnold. Gentlemen, if you would please get ready, we will be heading off to Mr. Holmes’ residence in order to discuss our options.”

Harry nodded and glanced at the younger man. Eggsy met his gaze, and they knew then that what had just happened would need to be put on the backburner for the moment. Harry had no doubt however, that they would revisit the topic soon enough.

“Let’s get goin’ then,” Eggsy declared as he turned to face Merlin again. “I think we all want to be done with this mess already.”


	10. Bespoke Suits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The SIM cards haven't been introduced yet because Harry never confronted Prof. Arnold, so Valentine never upped the production time :)

            Eggsy sat on the edge of his seat, his elbows placed on his knees as he listened to Q and Merlin go on and on about what type of surveillance equipment they were going to need while attending Valentine’s gala. After all that time, they had finally gotten themselves a legitimate invitation through Professor Arnold; the man had gotten quite familiar with Eggsy’s fictional persona and it would have been a bit of an understatement to say that Professor Arnold was truly taken with him.

            “It seems the professor it quite _fond_ of you, 009,” Q smirked as he looked over the emails on his computer screen. “I daresay he would’ve gone right for it had you not made yourself unavailable.”

            Merlin glanced towards where Harry was standing in front of a full-length mirror, the agent adjusting his cuffs more roughly than they needed to be, before bringing his attention back to the monitor on the table. Merlin cleared his throat and hid a smirk. “Unavailable, yes,” he muttered. He wasn’t the head of his department for nothing; Merlin was beginning to doubt Harry and Eggsy’s skills as spies if this was what they considered to be subtle.

The five of them were gathered in one of Bond’s decoy flats for the impromptu meeting before two of them were to head off to the gala. While Harry and Eggsy got dressed and ready, Merlin and Q gave them a run-down of what the entire night was going to consist of as well as whoever else was attending.

“You’re already familiar with his head of security,” Q brought a picture of her up on the screen.

“Avoid her as much as you can,” Bond directed his comment to Eggsy. “If there’s anyone tonight that you should try not to approach at all, it’s her. Forget about all the guards and the security details, the one you don’t want on your trail is Gazelle. She’ll have you dead before you can even think of escaping.”

Harry finally finished in front of the mirror and took a seat on the couch next to Eggsy. “It’s your turn,” he told the younger man quietly once he’d sat down.

The younger man nearly swallowed his tongue as he finally took in the full effect of Harry in his tuxedo; a royal blue velvet jacket with black lapels over tartan trousers. Though Eggsy felt himself heating up under his collar, he knew he couldn’t react the way he wanted to in front of the others so he simply nodded and stood up hastily, grabbing his wrapped suit and stepping into the bedroom. The door was left open so that he would not miss a part of the conversation.

“Your main objective tonight is to figure out what the hell is going on and who else is in on it,” Merlin sat back, rubbed tiredly at his eyes and adjusted his glasses. “A scar on the neck seems to be a tell-tale sign, seeing as how both Arnold and Arthur have it. Q has managed to pull up surveillance footage of members of Valentine’s entourage; they all have similar markings as well. We have no idea what it is though,” he admitted to them.

“Right,” Harry sat back carefully so as to avoid creasing his suit. “We should then assume that everyone present at the gala is already compromised.”

“Unfortunately yes,” Bond agreed while walking over to the window to peer curiously outside. “I would suggest trying to become a part of the plan, but seeing as we have no idea what the bloody hell that entails, it might be safest to stick to information gathering for the moment.”

“Are you playing it safe, Bond?” Q muttered darkly. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Do we have any news from M or Mr. Holmes?” Harry asked before the two MI6 agents started bickering again, already feeling tired even though the evening hadn’t even truly started yet.

“Everything is still a fucking hot mess at the moment, so no,” Merlin smiled cruelly. “Nothing from them as of yet. It’s too risky to keep delivering information back and forth between the two agencies. It’s a miracle Arthur has yet to corner you alone since you’ve woken up.”

Harry grimaced at the thought.

“You’re very welcome for that, by the way,” Q piped up from his seat. “It’s not very easy, keeping that man busy.”

“And here I was under the impression that distracting an old man would have nothing on all the damage you could do with your laptop while sitting in your pyjamas,” Bond turned to smirk at the head of Q-branch.

Q pulled his eyes away from the screen for a moment to scowl at him. “Let’s see how smoothly your next mission goes, hm?”

“I’ll tell Mallory you said that.”

“What are you, seven years old? Are you going to tattle to daddy dearest?” Q mocked him.

“You’re my sole handler and you’re sitting there telling me you’re going to put my life in danger. Mallory values me more than that –”

“That’s enough you bloody children, settle the fuck down, yeah?” Eggsy interrupted them as he finally came out of the room while adjusting the buttons on his suit jacket. He went slightly more conservative than his older counterpart, choosing a more modest navy blue jacket and black trousers with a similar bowtie. The lapels of the jacket as well as the buttons were a stark contrast of silky green however to match with the fabric of Harry’s trousers.

“My, my, aren’t we handsome tonight,” Merlin smirked at the younger man, enjoying the slightly besotted look he could spot on Harry’s face. “Looking good, Eggsy.”

Eggsy laughed and posed. “Feeling good, Merlin.” He turned to face Harry and placed his arms at his side. “Well Galahad? Is it passable?”

Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to find the right words to express just how absolutely gorgeous the young man looked. No compliment he could think of would be able to do the younger agent justice.

“Alright that’s enough from you two; your car is here,” Bond said suddenly, breaking the growing moment between them.

It was just as well, Harry thought to himself. They could hardly do anything with the other three present. He grabbed his Kingsman issued glasses from the side table and placed them on the bridge of his nose as he stood up to join Eggsy near the door.

“Oh, before I forget,” Merlin stood up and walked towards his bag, grabbing something from the main pocket before making his way towards them. “Eggsy, you already have an ear-com but we need both eyes and ears for this operation. These are secure,” he said while handing the MI6 agent his own pair of glasses. “It will only transmit to the people in this room and no one else.”

Eggsy gaped at him for a second before hesitantly reaching out to grab them. He placed them on his face and smiled widely as the functions began to run across the screen. “These are wicked! Q, why don’t we have cool things like this?”

“Fuck off,” Q huffed while typing away.

“Do take care of them; there are only so many replacements I can make,” Merlin said while pointedly glaring at Harry, who in turn completely ignored the look.

Eggsy however caught sight of it and laughed harder. “Are you like James then? Always bringing back broken equipment and giving Q-branch a heart attack?”

“I resent the implication,” 007 sniffed and crossed his arms.

“The implication is very much true,” Q muttered darkly while typing away at his computer.

“Shall we?” Harry gestured towards the door before Merlin could divulge any more of his bad habits.

“Yeah, yeah, run away why don’t you,” Merlin smirked as he watched the two men exit the loft and make their way down the stairs and to the main entrance where the car was waiting for them. He then turned to face James and Q, both of whom were observing him carefully. “How are we doing with Arthur?” he asked them.

“He’s pre-occupied at the moment, just as we wanted,” Q turned the screen towards him after a second of hesitating. “He won’t be able to attend the gala at all. I’ve managed to filter whatever information is being passed down to him so that he never hears of Galahad and 009’s involvement in this whole thing.”

“So as far as he knows, we’re still at a dead-end when it comes to Lancelot’s death?” Merlin approached the computer and took a look at the documents.

“Exactly. He also only knows that Galahad was injured while on duty, but Chester King has absolutely no idea what kind of information we walked away with,” Q told him.

“Which is?” James walked over from his perch at the window.

Q typed a few commands onto his laptop and explained as a program booted up. “The thing is, we managed to decrypt Galahad’s video feed just before he woke up, but actually going through the footage was proving to be slightly more difficult than anticipated.”

“The video was damaged,” Merlin explained as he took his seat again. “Whatever it was that injured Harry also damaged the glasses. We tried to find a way to get access to a clean version of the file, but that was proving to be rather impossible.”

“Until now,” Q smirked as he hit a few choice keys and watched as a video finally loaded.

James let his glance go from one man to the other, a frown on his face. “The two of you are rather terrifying when put together.”

“We know,” they both answered.

            Before James could say anything else, the video started playing. On the screen, they could see Harry confronting an older man and demanding answers from him. The old man opened his mouth to speak, but just as he started to say something, a red and white light began emanating from his neck before his head exploded, terminating the feed.

            The three viewers were rather taken aback. Merlin and Q sat back in their seats, nearly identical looks of disgust on their faces while James simply hummed from his perch behind them. “Well that was unexpected,” he said.

            “That seemed like it was coming from his inside his neck,” Merlin finally broke himself out of his stupor and sat forward to rewind the video and zoom in. “That’s a scar on his neck, just like Arthur and the Professor.”

            “Are you telling me that whatever is in their necks can explode like this at any second?” Q’s face was turning a rather interesting shade of green.

            Merlin didn’t know what to say. “We better warn Galahad and 009.”

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

P.S. [This](https://www.marcwallace.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Dinner-Suits-Shawl-Collar-Evening-Suit-Green-lapel-Bespoke-Suit-Marc-Wallace-Suits1.jpg) is what Eggsy's suit jacket looks like :)


	11. Unconventional Meetings

            Harry and Eggsy were quiet as the car neared the gala’s venue at Valentine’s residence. They were seated near to each other, their limbs brushing together with every turn the driver took. Eggsy took the opportunity to sweep his gaze over his partner’s handsome form, a small smirk playing at his lips as he suddenly thought of something.

            “What is it?” Harry asked him with a bewildered smile once he’d caught sight of the look on the MI6 agent’s face.

            “Nothin’,” Eggsy shrugged. “Just gettin’ myself ready to beat everyone away from you with a stick. Did you have to dress up so nicely then?” the younger man turned to face him. Despite the words, he held a sincere smile.

            Harry huffed good-naturedly, choosing not to verbally answer the question. Instead, he let his left hand drift over to where Eggsy was sitting, placing his palm right above the younger man’s knee and squeezing lightly.

            Eggsy’s smile grew bigger. “That your way of sayin’ I ain’t gotta worry?” He put his own hand over Harry’s and held onto it for the rest of the way.

            “ _Galahad, 009,_ ” Merlin’s voice sounded through their ears. “ _We have some new information_.”

            “Go ahead, Merlin,” Harry responded promptly. He’d nearly forgotten that they were being constantly monitored. He didn’t have it in him to be embarrassed over his behaviour with Eggsy.

            “ _It seems whatever they’ve got under that scar is also causing their heads to explode._ ”

            Eggsy gaped at nothing. “What the fuck?!”

            “ _It’s some sort of implant_ ,” Q’s voice added in. “ _We don’t know what activates it. Suffice it to say that the two of you should be extremely careful and wary of pretty much everyone tonight. They could be walking bombs for all we know. Galahad, was there something in particular that happened right before your targets head blew up?_ ”

            “I’m afraid my memories of that day are somewhat muddled, what with having been rendered unconscious and all,” Harry reminded them.

            “ _Just try not to blow anyone else’s head up_ ,” Merlin heaved a sigh.

            “Well that’s us fucked, then,” Eggsy swore, his hand tightening minutely around Harry’s.

            “We’re almost there,” Harry told him once they passed the gated entrance to a private compound.

            Eggsy nodded nervously and looked outside the window. “What’s our game plan?”

            “Stick close to me,” Harry reminded him. “I don’t think separating would be a good idea.”

            “Right,” Eggsy agreed. “Do we try approachin’ Valentine directly?”

            “We might not have a choice,” Harry told him as they neared the main entrance where a line of cars were slowly moving forward. “If Professor Arnold has spoken of you to him then Valentine will want to meet you.”

            “Fuck. What do we do about Gazelle? She’ll be stuck to his side the whole time.”

            “Simple. Don’t act like we have something to hide and we should be fine,” Harry smirked at him while opening the door and stepping out.

            That was, of course, much easier said than done.

            They stepped carefully through the crowd in unison, Harry’s hand at the small of Eggsy’s back the whole time. Harry carefully took note of all possible exits and windows while Eggsy slowly gazed through the crowd, his glasses recording all of those present.

            “Whatever he’s plannin’,” Eggsy started quietly as he leaned in to whisper in Harry’s ear, “he’s got a lot of people in high places backin’ him.” To anyone else, they would’ve looked like nothing more than a couple bantering playfully. “Large company owners to government dignitaries and officials… Harry, this is a shit-ton of important people in one room.”

            “Bloody hell, there are members of the Royal Family as well,” Harry muttered as he spotted a few of them conversing at the other side of the room.

“ _Incoming at your three, Galahad,_ ” Merlin’s voice sounded through their ear-coms.

Harry proceeded to pull Eggsy closer to his side as they were approached by a figure he soon identified as Professor Arnold.

            “Charles, so glad you could make it!” the older man greeted him, stepping forward to shake Eggsy’s hand enthusiastically. “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to get the time off from school. And Harry! Lovely to see you again.” Though the words were cheerful, he could see that the professor had to force himself to relay the happy sentiment to Eggsy’s partner.

            “Good evening Professor,” Harry smiled, removing his hand from Eggsy’s waist only to shake Professor Arnold’s in greeting before returning it to its place. He had to remind himself not to behave like a child and pull Eggsy even closer under the old man’s gaze.

            “Thank you for the invitation Professor,” Eggsy was quick to add, his elbow jabbing slightly into Harry’s side in warning. “We were delighted that you thought of having us over.”

            “Oh no, my dear boy,” Arnold chuckled and turned his full attention back to Eggsy. “I merely spoke of you to Mr. Valentine. He was quite impressed and wanted to meet you straightaway! We should be thanking our lovely host. Ah, speaking of, there he is!” Professor Arnold beamed as he caught sight of the man in question making his way towards them, Gazelle at his side.

            “ _Keep a level head, boys_ ,” Merlin’s voice reminded them.

            “Mr. Valentine,” Eggsy greeted the casually dressed man with a beaming smile. “It’s an honour to meet you sir,” he moved forward to shake his hand enthusiastically. “Your work in environmental preservation is absolutely inspirational.”

            “I’ve gotta say, that’s not what most people recognise me for,” Valentine laughed, the lisp in his words pronounced. “Charles Redmayne, I presume? Professor Arnold’s told me a whole lot about you.” He grinned and released Eggsy’s hand. “And you must be Harry Wotton,” Valentine turned to greet him.

            “A pleasure, Mr. Valentine.” Harry smiled politely, his eyes trailing over to where Gazelle was standing watch as he shook her employer’s hand.

            “Please, just Valentine’s good. Come along now! Let’s go get you guys some drinks,” he smiled and gestured them towards a waiter carry a tray of champagne flutes. “Charles, Professor Arnold tells me that you’re in environmental studies?” Valentine asked him once they were each carrying a drink. Gazelle chose not to partake and remained at her employer’s side, her eyes constantly keeping watch on the general happenings in the main room.

            “At Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment, yes,” Eggsy played along. “I’m finishing my master’s there.”

            Harry feigned taking a sip of his champagne, one ear on the conversation and the other on a group of people standing close to them, trying to hear if they’d let out any vital information. He only got so far as to hear them talking about the imminent release of a new product before being forced to rejoin the initial conversation.

            “How do the two of you handle not seeing each other for such long amounts of time?” Valentine asked them after Eggsy had finished explaining the merits of his scholarship. “Professor Arnold mentioned somethin’ along those lines when he spoke about you.”

            “It is difficult,” Eggsy admitted while Harry wrapped his arm tighter around him. “But we’ve gotten used to it.”

            “How did the two of you meet, exactly?” Gazelle looked them over with narrow eyes. Harry felt that she hadn’t truly bought their story. “I’m sorry for asking, it’s just that the two of you don’t seem to be a very conventional… couple.” Her accent rolled over the words, giving them a shaper edge.

            “Oh, it’s uh,” Eggsy blushed slightly. “It’s a complicated story,” he admitted while twitching closer to the older man at his side. Harry had to remember to ask the younger man if he was able to make himself blush on command.

            “I’m afraid it was not exactly a conventional meeting,” Harry added on with a small cough and a slightly strained smile.

            “You’ve peaked my curiosity, Mr. Wotton,” she smiled dangerously. “I’m not very good at handling suspense.”

            “ _You’re venturing into dangerous territory, Galahad_ ,” Merlin warned him.

            Harry took in Valentine and Arnold’s curious gazes as well as Gazelle’s slightly more menacing one. “The conversation isn’t exactly suited for polite company; but I suppose if you truly must know, Charles and I met by chance one evening and ended up getting further acquainted with each other later on that night; in the biblical sense, of course.”

            “Oh god,” Eggsy murmured with proper embarrassment and turned to hide his face in Harry’s shoulder for a moment.

            “After that, we simply kept seeing each other,” Harry rubbed at Eggsy’s arm casually. “Has your curiosity been satisfied?” he asked Gazelle, facing her suspicious gaze head on.

            “ _For fuck’s sake Galahad, tread **lightly**_ ,” Merlin grit through his teeth.

            “It’s alright love,” Eggsy pulled his head away and stood up straight, his cheeks still flaming red. He patted at Harry’s chest and looked at the other three in embarrassment before saying, “We’re not really ones to share private information like that.”

            “My apologies,” Gazelle smiled stiffly and glanced at Valentine.

            “Alright, alright, alright!” Valentine clapped his hands together. “Let’s talk about something else for a change, hm? Charles! Come along now, there’s a few people over here I think you should meet.”

            For the rest of the evening, Harry and Eggsy were taken around Valentine’s residence and introduced to just about every person present. Harry grew slightly alarmed at the sheer amount of attendees who had identical scars on their necks. Nearly everyone present had the same markings.

            “Mr. Wotton, I don’t think I’ve ever asked you, but what is it that you do?” Valentine suddenly turned his attention back to the Kingsman agent while Eggsy was busy conversing with another government official.

            “Oh, I’m just a simple financial advisor, nothing fancy,” Harry smiled at him. “Charles has all the brains in this relationship, I’m afraid.”

            “And don’t you forget it,” Eggsy pecked him lightly on the cheek. “Love, should we get going? We have to be up early tomorrow.”

            “You’re absolutely right,” Harry replied immediately.

            “We’re terribly sorry, Mr. Valentine,” Eggsy turned towards their host apologetically. “I’m afraid we have plans in the morning that we weren’t able to cancel. It’s been an absolutely wonderful evening.”

            “Oh not a problem Charles, you go on now,” Valentine smiled at him, Gazelle still standing at his side. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other _real_ soon.”

            “ _Well that’s not at all ominous_.” Merlin’s exasperation rang true for all of them.


	12. A Bloody Test

Eggsy sighed and tugged repeatedly at the color of his shirt, doing his best to ignore the strobe lights while searching for their target in a bloody crowded nightclub. He was feeling rather conflicted about the test Merlin had assigned them; he knew it was part of the job. For MI6 and Kingsman agents, sex was a commodity. At times, they had to use their bodies to seduce and lure targets in order to obtain vital information. Eggsy was aware of this; he’d done it several times before, quite successfully he might add.

            No, what troubled him about that test in particular were his emerging feelings for Harry. He had no doubt that the older man would never hold it against him; Galahad would have undergone missions similar to Eggsy’s and 007’s. Harry’s thoughts and feelings on the test were not the issue at hand.

            Eggsy’s problem stemmed from the fact that he wasn’t quite certain of what was going on in his own mind. He fancied Harry, that was for certain. Eggsy was a goner nearly from the moment he’d laid eyes on the older man entering Professor Arnold’s classroom. Harry Hart walked like he knew every secret the universe had to offer. To be honest, Eggsy never stood a chance.

            That was it though, wasn’t it? He fancied the older man, sure, but it didn’t end there. When Eggsy looked at Harry, he knew there was something else, something he hadn’t figured out yet. That time in the infirmary, after Harry had finally woken up – simultaneously pulling Eggsy out of his miserable state – and everything that had followed after… the MI6 agent knew where his thoughts were heading, but he wasn’t certain he was ready to acknowledge them. Not after such short a time, and most definitely not without knowing how the older man himself actually felt.

            His thought process was rendering his current test nearly impossible to complete. Eggsy didn’t know how he was to go about seducing someone when his head wasn’t screwed on properly. His thoughts were drifting left and right, a constant back and forth of bickering on a loop in his mind. At that point, he wasn’t certain if he would manage to even _talk_ to the target in his current state of confusion, let alone sleep with her.

            Bond had told him that his constant need to overthink personal matters would keep him from completing a mission at some point; his mentor had no doubt in Eggsy’s capabilities. Instead, 007 felt that the younger man held too much concern for others, that he cared much more than he should.

            Then again, this came from a man who cared about nearly no one at all. Or at the very least, he tried not to.

            Eggsy was pulled away from his thoughts when he saw Charlie finally approaching a woman seated at a table and engaging her in a conversation. It wasn’t long before Roxy joined them as well, the two Kingsman candidates instantly bickering while the target looked at them with amused confusion.

            The MI6 agent took a deep breath and steeled himself for a long night. With the mindset of getting ready for an evening of socialising, he grabbed his champagne flute and walked towards the seated trio, taking his first sip once he’d finally reached them.

            Eggsy froze as he gulped the alcohol down, the familiar rank taste bursting on his tongue and flowing down his throat. His eyes grew wide as he recognised the taste, his gaze instantly drawn to the similar glasses both Charlie and Roxy held.

            He must have been more obvious than he’d thought because Roxy was suddenly standing in front of him, her big brown eyes worried. “Eggsy, are you alright?” she asked him.

            “How much have you had to drink?” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the music. “Rox, how much champagne did you drink?!”

            Before she could answer, a waiter walked past them and approached Charlie and their target. “Lady Sophie, a phone call for you at reception,” he told her.

            While their target stood up to leave, Eggsy’s eyes zeroed in on the champagne bottle the waiter was holding. When he pulled his glance back up, the waiter was already smirking at him. “You know, there’s a much easier way to guarantee getting someone home,” he continued smiling, showcasing his very large teeth. “Rohypnol. Or maybe something stronger.”

            Just as he finished speaking, Charlie, who had still been sitting on the couch, suddenly fell sideways. He was out before he’d even finished falling.

            Roxy began to stumble, her arms reaching up to catch at Eggsy’s shoulders as she lost her balance. Eggsy tried to fight the drowsiness that was threatening to take over, his mind swimming through very dark waves. His own arms went around Roxy’s waist in an attempt to hold her up but the strength was leaving him quickly; he found himself only able to slow her descent enough that she wouldn’t injure herself gravely falling to the floor.

            As for himself, he tried to fight it back as much as he could. He threw the champagne glass that was still in his hand towards the waiter’s face. He felt a small hint of satisfaction as it hit true, a gash appearing on the other man’s forehead. They had garnered a bit of an audience at that point, but Eggsy didn’t care. The MI6 agent then proceeded to tackle the waiter to the ground while he was pre-occupied with the blood pouring down his head. They both grunted as they slammed against the floor, Eggsy quick to pull an arm back and punch the man again and again with whatever energy he had left.

            “Fuck,” he cursed as his body began to lose energy, the word slurring past his lips. He gasped as he nearly fell on his face with the last punch, whatever remaining adrenaline he had left now completely sapped from his body.

            The last thing he saw before finally passing out was the waiter struggling to get up, a dangerous sneer overtaking his bloodied features.

            The next time Eggsy’s eyes blinked open, a dark brick ceiling swam into view. He groaned painfully, his eyes half-shut as he tried to keep whatever meager light there was from overwhelming his fatigued senses. He tried moving around but soon found he couldn’t; his arms and legs were bound against something and wouldn’t budge.

            “Evening Eggsy,” a voice sounded out from near his feet. “You gave me quite a hard time back there.”

            “’the fuck is goin’ on?” the young agent mumbled, his words still slurring.

            “I want you to tell me about Kingsman,” the man continued.

            Eggsy frowned in confusion and looked to where the voice was coming from, anger surging from him as he recognised the waiter.

            “Come on Eggsy,” the other smirked. “Tell me and you can cut yourself loose,” he indicated the knife he held in his hand, before turning to point it towards something at his right.

            Eggsy’s gaze followed and he felt his heart race when he saw the bright light at the end of the tunnel; it was only then he noticed that he was tied down to a bloody train track, with the train itself heading right towards him.

            “Fuck,” he gulped and looked around him for any means to escape. The ropes tying him down were tight enough that he couldn’t slip his hand through. Even if he broke his thumb, it would only give him one free – albeit injured – hand, and the train was coming too fast to free the rest of his limbs.

            “Come on Eggsy, is Kingsman worth dying for?” the man kept on smiling, the knife held up in his hand.

            Eggsy let out a manic laugh, convinced that moment would be his end. Even if he wanted to give up the information, he would never cut himself free in time to avoid being hit by the train.

            “FUCK YEAH!” he yelled out, his thoughts straying to Harry; at least the man was safe. At least he knew about Arthur, knew to not trust his former mentor. At least Eggsy got to be with him, even if it was only one time.

Maybe Kingsman wasn’t worth dying for, but Harry Hart was.

            His final thoughts as the train approached were all of Harry. He clenched his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable impact, the sound of the train approaching much too quickly. Just as he braced himself for the end, the noise faded away and it all became silent once more.

            Eggsy hesitantly opened his eyelids and found himself in the same tunnel, all in one piece. The part of the track he’d been tied to had descended as the train past over and lifted back up once the coast was clear. At his feet stood Harry, the knife in his hand and a smug smile on his face. “Bloody well done,” Harry told him proudly.

            Eggsy sighed and slumped back as realisation took over. A fucking test. “How did the others do?” he asked, half-way curious and half-way irritated.

            “Roxy passed with flying colours. Charlie’s up next,” the older man remarked, a slight lilt to his voice. “Want to watch?”

            Eggsy shrugged, feeling slightly petulant. “Yeah, alright,” he snapped out childishly.

            Harry continued to smile as he came closer and knelt by Eggsy’s feet, delicately grabbing hold of Eggsy’s ankle before deftly slicing the rope off. His hand lingered however, rubbing small circles over the tender skin before moving on to the next foot. “How are you feeling?” Harry asked him as he took hold of the younger man’s other ankle. His movements with Eggsy were soft and lingering, his gloved hands caressing the younger man lightly as he freed him.

            “Been better,” Eggsy admitted, slightly out of breath from all the wonderful touches. “Been worse too.”

            Once both of his legs were free, Harry moved up to his arms next. He gently grabbed hold of Eggsy’s left hand, his fingers lingering on the softness of the young man’s palm; he lightly traced his index finger down to Eggsy’s wrist before bringing the knife up to cut the rope free.

            “Christ Harry,” Eggsy gulped, feeling his pants tighten slightly and his breath quicken even more. His mind was riddled with scenarios where he was tied to something other than a train track, and where there were fewer layers of clothes between them. “Don’t go off startin’ somethin’ you can’t finish,” he whispered harshly, his cheeks flushed red.

            Harry smirked and cut off the last rope, taking Eggsy’s hand and helping him to his feet. He brought the younger man closer with the pretence of dusting his jacket off before commenting in a low voice, “Who said I wouldn’t finish it?”

            Eggsy’s face flushed even further and he fought back a moan. “Fuck,” he cursed quietly, really wishing they were anywhere else but there in that moment so that he could bloody well _do_ something to Harry and his frankly unnerving mouth. He found himself shifting closer to the other man without realising it, their hips nearly flush together.

            “Come on,” Harry smirked and backed away slowly, the heat of his body departing with him and leaving Eggsy cold. “It’s Charlie’s turn now.”


	13. Gone on you

After having been made to stand as still as possible for the length of another one of Merlin’s speeches, it was a relief for Eggsy to finally get to sit down. He melted against the leather seats of Harry’s car, his aching shoulders grateful for the comfort they offered, his head already lolling back and ready for sleep. Harry followed him in shortly, closing the door behind him and directing the driver to take them home.

            “We goin’ to your place then?” Eggsy let his head turn lazily towards Harry, his eyes carefully observing the man next to him.

            “You heard Merlin,” Harry smiled at him indulgently. “Twenty-four hours without any sort of interruption.”

            Suddenly Eggsy wasn’t feeling quite so tired anymore. He sat up straight in his seat, ignoring the protests emanating from his injured body. His gaze was wide as he took in Harry’s smirking face and the crinkled eyes behind the glasses.

            “You were positively magnificent tonight, Eggsy.” The Kingsman agent said this while turning his head to look outside the window, his gaze directed at streets and passing cars. “You did much better than any of them were expecting you to.” Harry continued to look away from Eggsy; he was convinced that if he so much as glimpsed at the younger man, he would no longer be able to hold himself back.

            “And you?” Eggsy asked him quietly. “What were you expectin’?”

            “I expected nothing less,” Harry answered him honestly, his hand twitching to reach out for the other. “You’re a brave man, Eggsy. I’ve said this before my dear boy; you are more than fit to be a Kingsman agent.” The car pulled to a stop and Harry was quick to exit, not giving Eggsy the chance to comment on his words. The other already belonged with MI6; there was no use in Harry trying to convince himself otherwise.

He was already working on unlocking his front door when he heard the taxi pull away and footsteps climbing up the stairs to join him at the entrance. “Hope you’ve got food ‘cause I’m bloody famished,” Eggsy stated coolly as they stepped past the threshold, the door closing behind them. The amusement was easy to detect in his voice, and Harry took the comment for what it was; a fast getaway from a topic of conversation they’d both rather not have.

“Let’s get you cleaned up first. I can’t imagine you walked away completely unscathed from that altercation,” Harry turned to face him, forcing himself to back away a little bit so as not to jump the younger man where he stood when he noticed how little distance there actually was between them in the little hallway. “Meet me upstairs in my office, second door to the left. I’ll bring up some ice and the first aid kit.”

Eggsy really tried to do exactly as Harry told him, he really did, but in that moment, he simply could no longer help himself. There he was, standing in the main hall of Harry’s house with the man in question only a few feet away from him. He’d been waiting ever since that day in the infirmary to get the older man alone again; the teasing touches Harry had bestowed him with earlier on in the evening certainly did nothing to appease his patience. And so instead of doing as he was told to, Eggsy found himself closing the remaining distance between them instead.

Harry watched with baited breath as the younger man advanced towards him until they stood chest to chest, the younger man looking up at him from beneath his lashes and slowly raising his hands to remove Harry’s glasses, placing them on the small table in the entryway. Eggsy then went and let his hands trail on Harry’s pectorals, fingers reflexively squeezing around muscles lying dormant beneath the older man’s suit.

Theoretically, he knew Harry would have to have a muscled physique, what with their line of business being physically demanding, but it was one thing to know and another to actually _see_ and _feel_. They’d had no time for any actual exploration in the infirmary, and Eggsy was suddenly filled with the urgent need to undress the other man and kiss every inch of his skin.

“Eggsy,” Harry’s voice was hoarse with want. “We haven’t properly talked about any of this yet.”

Eggsy clenched his eyes shut and buried his head in the crook of Harry’s neck, nodding in understanding even as he attempted to hold back his disappointment. “I know,” he breathed in and out, the other’s intoxicating scent filling up his senses. “I know,” he repeated again after a moment, mostly in an attempt to convince himself. He was just about to back away when Harry’s strong arms were suddenly wrapping around his waist and pulling him closer. Eggsy found he couldn’t breathe from the anticipation alone.

“I want to be very clear about this,” Harry murmured in his ear as he held onto him. “You are a brilliant young man, Eggsy. You have the entire world at your feet. I, on the other hand, am an old man who is past his prime and would only hold you back. Maybe not now, maybe not in the near future; but a few years down the road –”

“Harry, with all due respect,” Eggsy shook his head and pulled away only enough to be able to look the older man straight in the eyes, “shut the fuck up.” He then proceeded to lift himself on the tips of his toes to kiss Harry. It was hard and fierce, nothing like their kisses in the infirmary, Eggsy refusing to hold back the frustrations he felt. “You ain’t tellin’ me your age is what’s gonna keep us from doin’ this,” he spoke against Harry’s lips.

“You are so very young, Eggsy.” Harry kept him wrapped in his arms, his fingers tightening at the younger man’s waist and pulling at the fabric of the jacket he wore. “You have yet to see the world and what time does to it.” With a sigh, he let his forehead fall gently against Eggsy’s and clenched his eyes shut, pure want and desire coursing through his veins. It wasn’t just desire though, was it? Harry was already looking down an imagined timeline, already picturing what could possibly happen once Valentine was stopped and the world was righted again. He knew from then that no matter what they did, it would never be just a casual fling; not for him at least. 

            “You forgettin’ that I’ve already seen so much of the world?” Eggsy huffed out a self-deprecating laugh and surged forward to kiss Harry again, one last gentle press of his lips. “MI6 ain’t exactly a walk in the park, love. We equals in this, Harry.” Eggsy knew better than to keep pushing though, and so with a heavy breath, he decided that backing away was probably the best decision for the moment. He let his hands fall from their comfortable perch around Harry’s broad shoulders and stepped away, steadfastly ignoring every nerve in his body that told him to keep holding on. “But I ain’t goin’ to push for somethin’ you ain’t ready to give. I’m sorry if I’ve gone and mucked things up between us.”

            Eggsy kept his gaze directed to the floor as he backed away, which would explain why he was suddenly so surprised when Harry surged forward and pressed him against the wall behind him. “You beautiful, bloody stubborn boy,” Harry groaned out as he let his hands fall to the back of Eggsy’s thighs, squeezing at the muscles there before tensing his arms and lifting the younger man up.

            “Fuck!” Eggsy cursed and moaned loudly, his legs automatically wrapping around the older man’s waist, one hand balancing him at Harry’s shoulder and the other tangling itself between soft strands of hair. Harry’s normally coiffed and well-kept strands were turning messy as Eggsy’s fingers pulled at them involuntarily, his hands developing a mind of their own and forfeiting whatever order he tried to give them.

The MI6 agent’s cheeks flushed a darks red as he realised he could feel his ever-growing erection pressing into Harry’s stomach.

            “It was never a question of my being ready to give you this.” Harry accentuated his words with a forward thrust of his hips, aligning his own erection with the swell of Eggsy’s arse. The action caused the younger man to cry out once more, his muscled thighs tightening even more around Harry’s waist.

            “Please,” he moaned desperately, his hands nearly clawing at whatever he could reach. “It’s been fuckin’ weeks, don’t fuckin’ tease me,” he continued to beg him, his head falling back and thumping against the wall.

            Harry couldn’t help but latch his mouth onto the skin being offered to him, his teeth biting and pulling at it until several marks began to appear. Meanwhile, his hips kept pressing forward insistently; whatever decision he had been initially planning on making, his body had already made its choice.

            It was a thing of wonders for Eggsy to witness Harry losing control the way he was. He was so used to seeing the Kingsman agent perfectly put-together that it was building up a tornado of excitement in his stomach to watch as that careful control was being stripped away piece by piece. “Fuck, Harry,” he groaned loudly as the other started nipping at his collarbones. “Come on! Come on!” he begged, unabashedly thrusting down against the older man’s hips.

            Harry cursed and pulled away minutely to stare the other head on. “I’m going to take you upstairs,” he stated as calmly as he could in spite of his harried state, his heaving chest betraying him, “with the express intent of fulfilling every filthy promise I ever made to you.”

            “Fucking Christ,” Eggsy grit through his teeth as he tried to hold onto any other noise that might showcase just how much that sentence actually affected him. He knew it was a lost cause when he felt his flush creeping down from his cheeks to his chest.

            Harry didn’t even bother letting Eggsy go so that they could head up towards the bedroom; no, he was much too impatient for that. No, Eggsy should’ve guessed the other man would be much too impatient for that. He gasped in surprise and tightened his legs around Harry’s waist when the man simply pulled away from the wall with his arms still carrying him, and began his trek up the stairs. Eggsy had no idea that being manhandled in that way would be such a turn on for him; he found it increasingly difficult to keep himself from rubbing one off right there on the staircase.

            Harry was determined to waste no time once they’d finally made it to the bedroom; he let Eggsy down only to push him back against the nearest wall once more and attack his lips, his deft hands moving quickly to pull off the younger man’s jacket. They broke away again only for the time it took to remove Eggsy’s shirt, their mouths drawn back together like magnets.

            Eggsy couldn’t keep himself from moaning into Harry’s mouth when he felt the other’s hands running down from his shoulder blades to the small of his back, stopping at the swell of Eggsy’s arse to hold him closer. Harry’s tongue slid against his own before pulling back, the older man catching Eggsy’s lower lip between his and lightly biting at it.

The younger man’s senses were firing in every direction, forcing him in every which way; rather than fighting it however, he simply let his body do as it wanted. He let his arms wrap around Harry’s neck to tug him closer. Let his lips press repeatedly against Harry’s, their tongues meeting in the middle. He let his hands trail down Harry’s chest until they reached the buttons of his jacket, carefully undoing them before pushing the expensive fabric off the older man’s shoulders. The suit jacket fell to the floor but neither of them had any care for manners and proper clothing care in that moment. Another loud moan rang out in the room when Eggsy’s fingers came across Harry’s shoulder holster, clutching at the thick leather strands as though his life depended on staying within close proximity to the older man. He continued to breathe Harry in like a drug as he proceeded to push the holsters down, his lips constantly seeking attention.

It wasn’t much longer before Eggsy had divested Harry of everything except for his trousers. They both stood there, shirtless and panting harshly as they stared at each other with barely an inch of space between them.

“Get on the bed,” Harry murmured as he surged forward for another kiss. “Make sure you have these off,” he punctuated the words with a forceful tug on Eggsy’s jeans. “And then wait for me, hm?” he pressed another lingering kiss before pulling away.

Eggsy leaned forward into the press of his lips as much as he could before Harry completely pulled away, a playful smirk on his face. He then watched in rapture as the older man headed into the en-suite, his blue gaze trained to the defined muscles forming Harry’s back; Eggsy could hardly believe his luck at having found such a beautiful man.

In the bathroom, Harry took a deep breath in an attempt to try and calm himself down. At the rate they were going, he wouldn’t last for much longer, embarrassing enough as it was to admit. Eggsy was simply too enticing to hold back on however. He simply couldn’t look at the younger man without wanting to wrap himself in those arms for the rest of forever.

Harry forcefully shook himself out of his thoughts and grabbed what he came to get before heading back to the room, his jaw nearly dropping as he caught sight of his young lover sprawled across his black sheets, the bedspread folded out of the way. “Fucking shit,” he whispered as his eyes took in the naked, sinewy lines of Eggsy’s muscled body, the younger man stretching out with a devious smile on his face.

“You alrigh’ there, bruv?” Eggsy grinned with more confidence than he actually felt, his fingers lightly ghosting over the trail of hair on his lower abdomen.

“Cheeky little bugger,” Harry muttered darkly as he walked closer, his eyes heavy with repressed emotion.

Eggsy swallowed harshly as the older man placed the acquired items on the bed, his gaze dragging back to Harry as he finally went about removing his trousers. Soon enough, the Kingsman agent joined him on the bed, placing himself between Eggsy’s spread legs with his elbows on either side of the younger man.

“Absolutely beautiful,” Harry whispered reverently as he trailed loving kisses over the beauty marks and moles littering the skin of Eggsy’s neck.

“F-fuck –!” Eggsy stuttered excitedly as the older man suddenly bit harshly into the junction of his neck and shoulder, a stark contrast to the light kisses he’d just been given. “Shit Harry, please!” he begged loudly again, his hands going down to Harry’s arse and pushing their hips together, their moans filling the room.

Harry had to move away to grab the condom and the bottle of slick with shaking hands from where he’d left them on the bed. He’d been planning on furthering his exploration of Eggsy, but he knew they would have other nights like that one; his patience was wearing too thin in that moment to be able to hold back any longer. He quickly returned to his spot above his young lover and snapped the cap open, coating his fingers generously before reaching down without another second to spare.

Eggsy threw his head back and let out a particularly wanton moan as he finally felt Harry’s questing fingers where he’d begged for them to be all night long. His chest was heaving dangerously as he tried to breathe normally, but he felt like all the oxygen in the world wouldn’t be enough to fill his lungs just then.

            It didn’t take much longer before Harry had worked up to three fingers, pumping them in and out of Eggsy with a gentleness neither of them were usually capable of. He kept placing sweet and lingering kisses to Eggsy’s lips in the interim to the point where they weren’t even kissing anymore but simply breathing together.

            “How many times you goin’ to make me beg, hm?” Eggsy forced out, his voice carrying with difficulty. “Been waitin’ all night for you to fuck me; thought you said you was finally gonna be fulfillin’ those promises,” he taunted cheekily, rising up slightly to bite at the curve of Harry’s chin.

            Harry was forced to kiss the smirk right off his face, his fingers eventually pulling away to grab at the condom wrapper. He nearly laughed at Eggsy’s dismayed groan at the loss of contact, his hands already busy tearing open the crispy packaging; he just about hissed in relief as he rolled the condom on, the anticipation of what was to come finally getting to him. Returning to his original position, Harry placed a hand on each of Eggsy’s thighs, pushing them even further apart while worrying at the skin on the younger man’s chest.

            “I’m gonna be completely covered in marks, ain’t I?” Eggsy asked with a breathless laugh though he didn’t seem at all opposed to the idea. He lifted his knees up to his chest when Harry nudged him, fidgeting slightly as he tried to let his body relax into the mattress.

            When Harry finally breached him, Eggsy felt his eyes slip shut of their own accord and his mouth fall open, a strangled moan escaping him unheeded. He arched desperately back into the sensation, his hips already moving in an attempt to take more than he should.

            “Eggsy,” Harry bit his lip as he stilled himself, waiting for the younger man to adjust. His arms were trembling where they were stretched out on either side of Eggsy’s head; it wasn’t exhaustion that was causing his body to react in that way, but rather the amount of energy it took to keep from thrusting blindly into the welcoming heat of Eggsy’s body.

            Eggsy released the hold he had on his shaky legs and let them wrap around Harry’s waist instead, his hands coming up to cradle the older man’s face. “You know,” he started, his voice strained as he stared the other in the eyes, “my body was trained to hold against torture. Pretty sure it won’t break me if you –” were the only words he was able to get out before Harry abruptly pushed forward and finally bottomed out. Eggsy let out a surprised cry, his toes curling at the sensation, his fingers slipping into Harry’s hair and pulling at the strands. “Yes!” he hissed, his back arching off the bed in pleasure.

            Harry kept thrusting forward, completely mesmerised by the sounds escaping the younger man beneath him as he continuously clenched around Harry’s length, the heels of his feet digging into the small of Harry’s back in encouragement.

            “Fuck, fuck, I’m so close!” Eggsy keened, his eyes shut tightly and his head thrown back, baring his neck for Harry to bite at some more.

            Harry shifted his right arm under Eggsy and wrapped it under the younger man’s waist, pulling him closer and further up. He knew he was successful in changing the angle of his thrusts when Eggsy cried out again, more desperately that time, his limbs absolutely trembling with pent-up energy.

            Eggsy had lost all coherence, lost the ability to formulate any actual words. He would have been embarrassed by the amount of noise he was making if it weren’t for the fact that he was so close to coming that he simply couldn’t be bothered about anything else. He could feel it building up in the pit of his stomach, his nerve-endings igniting and setting fire to the rest of him. Eggsy removed his trembling right hand from where it was digging fingernails into Harry’s shoulder and let it trail down his stomach to grasp at his own sensitive hardness. A few strokes coupled with precise hits to his prostate – courtesy of Harry, of course – and Eggsy found himself coming all over his hand as well as Harry’s lower stomach.

            Harry held on tightly as much as he could, eyes clenched shut as his young lover nearly sobbed through his orgasm, more than aware that he himself wasn’t far off from joining him but wanting to prolong the feeling for as long as possible.

            “Fuck!” the MI6 agent gasped, panting heavily with his mouth open in disbelief as he continued to descend from his high. “Harry, fuck –” he groaned, the heels of his feet still digging into Harry’s back; he wanted the other man to feel the absolute pleasure he was currently basking in. “Come on, Harry. Jus’… Jus’ take what you want. Anythin’ you want, come on!” he encouraged, his fingers scrabbling to find purchase on the older man’s shoulders as his lover suddenly began thrusting again, wildly chasing after his own orgasm.

            Harry came with Eggsy’s voice chanting praises in his ear, their bodies pressed close together as he dug his teeth into the crook of Eggsy’s shoulder, eliciting another loud moan from the younger man.

            They lay there for a while, Harry spent and panting, both of them refusing to detach from the other for a little longer. The peaceful quiet was broken by Eggsy’s giggles, the noise starting out small before turning into full-blown laughter. Harry pulled away slightly to stare down at his lover with a fondly bewildered expression on his face.

            “Sorry, it’s just –” Eggsy broke off with another giggle, his left hand coming up to cradle Harry’s cheek. “We could’ve been doin’ this _ages_ ago. I was pretty much gone on you the second you walked into that lecture hall,” Eggsy admitted with a twinkle in his eyes and a red blush still blooming on his high cheekbones. “Should I feel terrible about that?”

            Harry smiled and leaned down to press a sweet kiss to his tempting lips. “Well, you’d already kissed me within five minutes of meeting me,” he mumbled happily in between kisses. “But no, my darling boy, you should never feel terrible about that.”

            They fell asleep with their limbs tangled together, Harry’s head pillowed on Eggsy’s chest and Eggsy’s nose buried in the older man’s hair, breathing in his scent as he let himself be carried off to sleep.


	14. We are Weapons

The next time Eggsy woke, he was alone in Harry’s bedroom. He turned over groggily, glancing at the clock on the bedside table and noticing that he’d only been asleep for less than two hours at the most. When he spread his arms out, he could tell the other side of the bed was still warm with residual body heat. Light coming in from the hallway however told him that Harry had most likely gone to his study, and honestly, that man worked far too much.

            With that thought in mind, the MI6 agent groaned and forced himself to sit up, a smile on his face as he felt the slightly uncomfortable soreness of a night well spent. He huffed out a small laugh at the inevitable wince of pain that came with moving, but he forced himself to grab the first items of clothing he found on the floor, gingerly putting them on before shuffling out into the hallway while rubbing at his tired eyes. He was going to physically drag Harry back to bed if he had to.

            The man in question was just putting the finishing touches to an email he had to send to their tech department when he heard footsteps approaching his office. Harry only tensed momentarily before remembering that he wasn’t actually alone in his house; it had been a long time since he’d had company stay the night, and that thought in particular put the beginnings of a grin on his face. He only looked up once the younger man made it to the doorway, his light brown hair an absolute mess and love bites splattered across a large expanse of skin on his neck until they disappeared into the collar of his shirt. Speaking of which.

            “You’re wearing my blouse,” a genuine smile bloomed across his face without his knowledge as he took in the wrinkled, white button up they’d haphazardly discarded earlier on in the night. The shirt was slightly larger on Eggsy than it was on Harry, the sleeves reaching past the younger man’s knuckles and the hem scratching at the top of his thighs which were in turn covered by Eggsy’s own pair of black boxer-briefs. “It suits you rather well.”

            Eggsy met the compliment with a childish pout of his pink lips as he proceeded to stroll in, his eyes catching on the numerous papers covering the walls. “Thought Merlin said we wasn’t goin’ to be interrupted for a whole twenty-four hours,” he commented absently as he took in the various magazine headlines.

            “That’s right. This isn’t for Merlin however,” Harry finished the email and sent it off, silently closing his laptop and turning to observe Eggsy as the younger man continued to walk about the room. “Our tech department has been hounding me for a report I’ve repeatedly forgetten to send them.”

            “You don’t strike me as the type of bloke to forget about those sorts of things,” Eggsy smirked at him over his shoulder with a glint in his eye.

            Harry’s lips twitched as leaned back in his chair, mentally congratulating the younger man on his keen observations. “No, you’re quite right about that. I only tend to… forget things sometimes when they’re being a particularly rowdy bunch.”

            “Meanin’ you enjoy annoyin’ the shit out of ‘em as punishment, right?” Eggsy had finished his general tour of the room and now stood across Harry, the desk the only thing separating them. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the wooden surface and grinning like a loon at the revelation.

            “Maybe,” Harry shrugged in amusement, not willing to give the younger man the satisfaction of just yet having discovered some of Harry’s tamer revenge techniques.

            “Definitely.” The younger man’s smile grew exponentially as he realised what the other was trying to do. “Nice robe by the way. I didn’ get to tell you last time,” he nodded towards the article of clothing in question, his eyebrow raising suggestively.

            Harry glanced down at the robe he was wearing and, ah yes; he held back what would have been an undignified laugh as he realised it was the same one he’d been wearing in the infirmary during their previous encounter.

            “You redecorating or something?” Eggsy changed the subject with his ever-present smirk and pointed instead at the paper-covered walls.

            Harry shook his head amusedly, turning to glance at them as well, a fond expression on his face as he remembered the reasons for each of them. “No, no. These are the headlines on the days following my successful missions.”

            “Ah, souvenirs then,” Eggsy nodded in understanding before a twinkle suddenly appeared in his eyes. He moved away from the desk towards the wall, carefully observing the headlines before picking one in particular and pointing at it. He turned to look at Harry with an expectant gaze. “‘To Pee or not to Pee?’”

            “That was the headline the day after I diffused a dirty bomb in Paris,” Harry explained as he turned his chair and leaned back in order to better observe the younger man as he went about the room once more.

            Eggsy nodded slowly, calculatingly looking over the other articles before settling on the next one. “Germany 1 England 5.”

            “Missed that game. Was breaking up an undercover spy ring at the Pentagon.” It was a bit of a thrill, being so completely honest with another person about what it was that he truly did. Harry would also freely admit that it was perhaps something of a turn-on to know that Eggsy went through similar experiences, to be aware of the knowledge that the seemingly innocent young man standing before him was a dangerous weapon all on his own.

            Harry swallowed harshly and forced his mind away from that particular train of thought when he felt the heat beginning to rise under his skin, his hands willing him to reach out again the way they had a mere few hours ago.

            Instead, he turned his gaze to where Eggsy was pointing at the headline furthest on the wall. “My first mission,” he told him proudly once he’d pushed aside all of his other inappropriate thoughts. “Foiled the assassination of Margaret Thatcher.”

            “Not everybody would thank you for that one.” Eggsy moved away from the wall and back towards Harry, claiming a seat on the corner of the desk by hopping up onto the surface and settling in comfortably, his legs swinging lightly.

            “The point is that no one is _supposed_ to thank me for any of it. Neither are they supposed to thank _you_ for the risks you take,” he continued when the younger man nodded in acknowledgement, his legs still swinging. “Those are the burdens we must carry with us, Eggsy. We will forever risk our lives for a world that will never notice it. Such is the life of a Kingsman agent. As well as that of an MI6 agent,” he added thoughtfully.

            Eggsy was quietly contemplative for a moment before speaking up again. “Do you ever regret it? Joinin’ Kingsman, spending so many years doin’ this,” he elaborated, his hand coming up to gesture at the headlines covering the red walls.

            Harry thought of the question, _really_ thought of it the way he never had before. No one had ever bothered to ask him whether or not he’d ever regretted his decisions, and understandably so, seeing as how most of his friends and acquaintances were either part of Kingsman or affiliated with it in some way or other. “Kingsman is my life,” he admitted slowly, voicing the words for the first time even to himself. “I was young when I was recruited for candidacy. I had only just joined the Royal Air Force when I was first approached by MI6. Oh yes,” he affirmed when Eggsy’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “MI6 approached me first, but my family had a history of affiliation with Kingsman, and so I ultimately submitted my candidacy to the latter.”

            “That ain’t an answer though,” Eggsy told him seriously after another moment, his arms crossing over his chest. “Kingsman might be your life now, but do you ever regret lettin’ it be?”

            “The truth is, Eggsy, I don’t quite remember what my life was like before. I can’t exactly regret leaving behind something I have nearly no recollection of,” he shrugged his shoulders. He could tell by Eggsy’s expression that it wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear. “Are you asking because you’re searching for your own answer?” he was hesitant with asking that particular question. Harry was aware of the younger man’s frail relationship with his mother and half-sister, though he knew not the extent of it.

            Eggsy swallowed the lump in his throat as his thoughts went directly to his family. “Mum freaked when she found out I’d joined the Marines,” he laughed harshly, shaking his head. “Said I was goin’ to end up dead somewhere with no body to bring back home, just like dad.”

            Harry flinched at the reminder that _he_ was the reason Eggsy’s father never came back home. No matter the previous conversation they’d had over the subject, Harry would never be able to stop feeling guilty, even if Eggsy himself never blamed him. “It must have been difficult for you to carry through with your decision,” Harry pushed past his guilt to say. He would not make this conversation about him and his dreadful feelings on the issue; he had a feeling Eggsy rarely spoke about that time of his life where he had to make the choice between his family and the life he was currently leading.

            Eggsy felt the lump in his throat grow bigger as he held himself back from sobbing the way he wanted to. “I couldn’… I couldn’ leave ‘em like that,” he shook his head again; he was speaking as though he were a reciting speech he’d repeated to himself over and over. “Not with Dean. I couldn’ let us depend on that monster the way we were. I ain’t had any other choice,” he attempted to shrug his shoulders, unable to meet Harry’s eyes as the words poured out of his mouth. “Then mum told me to never come back… so I ain’t gone back.”

            Harry took a moment to absorb the information, his hand straying forward to carefully place itself on Eggsy’s knee. “Eggsy… I’m rather certain your mother would not turn you away if you were to go back home…”

            Eggsy shook his head in defeat, placing his own hand on Harry’s. “No, I know that. I always knew that. I just… They’re safe now, righ’? They’re not with him no more. Mum and Dais, they’re happy somewhere far away from that monster, and I help them in any way I can, but now… Now I think I have somethin’ to prove to myself?” his tone was unsure, as if he’d never truly admitted to it out loud before.

            It was something Harry understood very well; Eggsy’s choice to continue with the Marines became more than just a way to provide for his family. The younger man had given up on so many things when he was younger that he needed to prove to everyone – but to himself most of all – that he was capable of seeing something to the end. Harry had taken a look at Eggsy’s records following that first day at Mycroft Holmes’ residence; so much potential at such a young age, yet he threw many opportunities away. Joining the Marines was the first time in a very long time that he had applied himself to something and stuck to it. “Does that necessarily mean you can’t return home? You finished your training, passed it with flying colours actually. You’re a top agent at MI6, for Christ’s sake.”

            “That’s just it, ain’t it,” Eggsy smiled sadly, his eyes finally turning to face Harry for the first time since that particular conversation started. “This job that we do; we kill people. We’re weapons now. But it comes at a price, don’t it. There’s people in the world that want us dead, Harry. I ain’t ever bringing that to their doorstep.”

            Harry felt his heart clench in pain for the boy in front of him; in proving his worth to himself, he in turn had to sacrifice the people that meant the world to him. It hadn’t been an easy choice for the other to make, that much was obvious.

            “Alrigh’, ‘nough with the depressin’ shit, yeah? We have less than twenty-four hours together without interruption before the next test, righ’?” Eggsy forcefully shook himself out of his previous morose state and used the hand that was holding onto Harry’s to drag the older man closer, the chair rolling forward. “It’s down to me and Rox now.”

            “Yes, that’s right,” Harry agreed, willingly following as Eggsy tugged him over. “You’re meant to be failing this one. Although,” he tilted his head pensively as he ran something through his mind, “to be honest, I’m fairly certain you would have failed the next step whether you had been doing it on purpose or not.”

            “Oi, what’s that supposed to mean?!” Eggsy exclaimed with a laugh, his eyes widening. “You been tellin’ me I was Kingsman material this whole time!”

            “And you are, more so than most current agents, I assure you. However this next test would have challenged a part of you that I think you could never go against,” Harry told him honestly, thinking back to some of the things he’d read about the younger man in his rather extensive file. “I apologise for the comment, Eggsy. It wasn’t mean to be an insult to your character, quite the opposite actually; I think it’s a rather admirable quality of yours.”

            Eggsy stared at him quizzically for a moment, saying nothing as the older man advanced his chair even further so that he was now situated between Eggsy’s legs. “Will you tell me what the test is?”

            Harry shook his head, his lips curling in amusement. “No. No, I think I’d like to be proven right about this one.”

            Eggsy huffed and nudged at the older man, his own lips lifting slightly. “Yeah, alrigh’. Keep your bloody secrets, see if I care.” He used their proximity as an opportunity to climb into Harry’s lap, his strong legs straddling the older man easily. “Hi,” he grinned cheekily as he finally settled down.

            “Hello,” Harry indulged him easily, his arms coming up to wrap around the younger man. “I never asked, but how is your little JB? Living up to his moniker, I presume?”

            “Oi, I’ve told you, bruv! He ain’t named after Bond! It’s Jack Bauer, yeah?!” he leaned forward to bite at Harry’s neck in retaliation. “S’much better choice, innit!”

            “Don’t let him hear you say that,” Harry groaned as he leaned back in his chair, happy to let the younger man do as he pleased.

            Eggsy licked up his neck before pulling away to come up and nibble at his lips. “So,” he continued, placing fleeting kisses at the corner of Harry’s mouth, “less than twenty-four hours; what should we do next?” he murmured wickedly in his ear.

            “Well,” Harry fought back a groan, his hands going to grip at Eggsy’s arse. He felt the back of his neck heating up in anticipation when the younger man let out an appreciative moan, his hips eagerly grinding forward in search of friction. “I can always show you how to make a proper martini.”

            “Already gone that part down, mate,” Eggsy breathed out as his hands went to clutch at Harry’s shoulders for balance.

            Harry shook his head and bit his lip, his fingers tightening in the generous flesh of Eggsy’s arse as he ground his hips up, a surge of arousal spiking through him. “No, I’ve seen you order a martini at the gala,” he grit through his teeth. “’Shaken, not stirred’? That’s preposterous.”

            “Fuck, don’t let Bond hear you say that,” Eggsy giggled, though that was cut off cleanly when Harry began tearing at his shirt, the buttons clattering on the ground. “Shit Harry, this is yours!” he gasped, the end of his sentence turning into a moan as Harry pulled the fabric down to his elbows and began attacking his chest.

            “Fuck the blouse, I have plenty others,” he mumbled absent-mindedly and continued on with his ministrations.

            “Okay,” Eggsy nodded frantically, his head falling back in pleasure. He couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the night.


	15. At our happiest

            It had been a peaceful twenty-four hours for Harry and Eggsy; the pair of them spent their free time holed up in Harry’s house, only leaving the residence when called on by M and Holmes. The meeting had gone about as well as the others had; they knew they were on the cusp of something, but they were missing that last push of information they needed to be able to construct a clear vision of what was to come. Valentine’s interest in Eggsy was to their favour, but the internet mogul had yet to make any advances regarding the younger man.

            “Oh,” Q exclaimed softly right as they were prepared to part ways, similar looks of exhaustion on all of their faces. “Seems our dear professor has just sent you an email, 009.”

            Eggsy approached the head of Q-branch and looked over his shoulder curiously, his eyes flitting over the words. “Looks like he wants a meeting,” he commented absently. “In two days, actually. Says it’s urgent and that he’ll meet me at Oxford if it comes to that. A possible lead?” Eggsy looked up at Harry, seeking his opinion on the matter.

            “That seems very likely,” Harry agreed, his exhaustion vanishing at the possibility of new information.

            “It’s not Valentine, but it’s still something,” M agreed, standing up and fixing his suit. “Mr. Holmes, what do you think?”

            “You should meet him here. This week coincides with a university holiday; it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that you’d find yourself already in London to visit Harry,” Mycroft leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. “Q, please do arrange a meeting as soon as possible. Make it tomorrow if you can; there’s no need to wait a full two days with ‘Charles Redmayne’ already in town. 009, do be careful,” Holmes turned to address him seriously. “This email is rather suspicious in timing; I have no doubt the alarming increase in missing peoples’ reports has something to do with it.”

            “Of course, sir,” Eggsy nodded. It would do him no good to doubt Mycroft Holmes’ intuition; he’d heard stories of the man. Apparently, he could dissect a human being’s every trait and personality defect within seconds of meeting them. The fact that this current mission had him stumped was a feat of its own, proving just how dangerous Valentine was turning out to be. Having the entire world’s resources at one’s disposal could do that though; even someone as intelligent and perceptive as Mycroft Holmes could only do so much against the combined power of some of the world’s richest and most influential people when they were siding with Valentine.

            They concluded the meeting not long after, Eggsy having set a time with Professor Arnold for lunch of the next day. He had noticed that Bond had been sending them curious looks throughout the entire meeting, his icy blue eyes lingering on Eggsy’s high collar suspiciously. Eggsy had no doubt that his mentor had probably already put two and two together, but it seemed none of the others had realised it yet; if any of them had, no comments were forthcoming. Even Bond chose not to ultimately stay quiet about his observations.

            The next day, Harry and Eggsy said their goodbyes as they readied to leave Harry’s house as the time marked the end of their twenty-four hours. Eggsy lingered to place kisses on the older man’s lips for as long as he could. “You’re going to be late,” Harry commented with a smile, doing nothing to actually put an end to Eggsy’s shower of affection.

            “Alrigh’, alrigh’, I’m leavin’,” he gave him one last kiss and pulled away, his hand still tangled in Harry’s tie. “You headin’ straight to HQ?”

            “Yes, Merlin has a few things he needs to show me. Seems we might have another lead to look up on.” Harry watched as Eggsy kept backing away, dressed in clothes that were fit for an Oxford university student to wear during his downtime. That of course meant that he was dressed like a bloody posh aristocrat; it was making it very hard for Harry not to reach out and drag Eggsy back into his bedroom for round number four. He wore a white button-up shirt that was done up to the very last button, the collar hiding the marks on Eggsy’s neck; a gray sweater and black slacks were donned as well, the entire outfit compliment by Eggsy’s Kingsman-issued frames and their signature black oxfords.

            “Don’t go blowin’ off any other heads, yeah?” the MI6 agent grinned at him as he backed away slowly towards the door. “We all know what happened the last time you did that.”

            “Cheeky,” he muttered fondly. “Be careful today, Eggsy. Don’t give him a reason to doubt you. And don’t give Valentine a reason to hurt you.”

            “’Course not,” Eggsy grinned at him. “See you later, old man,” he laughed as he walked out, the door closing noisily behind him.

            Harry only lingered a little bit more before heading off towards Savile row. He was just walking through the entrance to the Kingsman tailor shop when he was suddenly accosted by Arthur. The older man had been coming out of dressing room one, clearly having just returned from Kingsman HQ via the underground tunnels. Harry cursed as he realised it was too late to turn away and pretend he had never spotted his old mentor. He had been successful at avoiding the other rather well since he’d woken up, only forcing an interaction when he felt it would become too suspicious to stay away. He wouldn’t be able to do the same in that moment.

            “Ah, Galahad!” Arthur greeted him with a smile. “Just the man I was looking for. Join me for lunch, will you? There are a few things we need to look over; I’m afraid I could use a fresh pair of eyes for this,” he gestured towards the folder in his hands and started heading towards the stairs, fully expecting the other man to follow him.

            Gritting his teeth to keep from saying what was truly on his mind, Harry reluctantly followed Arthur up to the dining room and took his seat on the man’s right-hand side; Harry felt slightly sick at having to keep up with the appearance that he was still loyal to the man who had essentially killed his friend. Lancelot deserved better than this.

            “You’ve been rather busy as of late,” Arthur commented as their soup was brought in. “I can never seem to find you anywhere.”

            “Yes well, chasing leads that result in dead ends will do that,” Harry replied somewhat stiffly. He was already late to meet Merlin, but he had no other choice but to stay put.

            Arthur grabbed his spoon and stirred his soup a little before commenting in an off-handed voice, “You seem to be spending a lot of time with your candidate as well.”

            “I wasn’t aware that was against the rules.” In his mind’s eye, Harry imagined himself ramming Arthur’s head into his soup bowl before grabbing the spoon and forcefully stabbing at the older man, blunt instrument be damned; he’d make it work.

            “It isn’t, no. I simply thought that with Lancelot’s recent death, finding the culprit would be your number one concern,” Arthur replied carefully, his eye trained on Harry to observe his reaction.

            Harry meanwhile, could feel himself seething to his very core. He had never been so angry, so absolutely _furious_. “Like I said,” he stated slowly, reigning in his rage, “it’s proving rather difficult to advance in our investigation with all of these dead ends. Merlin and I working hard to find anything that could be of use.”

            “Of course, of course,” Chester King nodded sympathetically. “I can understand that this is a very difficult time for you, Galahad. I would be remiss to comment on whatever… _activity_ you choose to partake in in order to momentarily take your mind off of certain things. It is, however, my responsibility to tell you to be careful, Galahad,” Arthur told him as he took a sip of his soup, wiping at his mouth before continuing. “I’m sure your young man has his qualities, but remember where you stand, Galahad. He is not of the same caliber as you and I.”

            Seeing nothing but red at the frankly poor image Arthur had been making of Eggsy, Harry had just about had it with Chester King and was reaching for his spoon to end him and this bloody treachery once and for all when Merlin suddenly barged into the room, his face sickly pale.

            “Dear God, Merlin,” Arthur was the first to speak, his own spoon handing in mid-air from where he’d been about to feed himself.

            “Sorry,” Merlin apologised, his voice harried and frantic, his eyes focusing on Harry. “That was rather rude of me. Unfortunately, I must ask to borrow Galahad, if that’s quite alright with you, Arthur,” he addressed the man at the head of the table. “Just having some trouble with your video feed again, could do with your opinion on something that I can’t quite make out,” he smiled, the action strained and forced.

            It took a moment for Harry to react after absorbing the words. “Of course,” he nodded, letting the spoon drop out of his death grip, the silver clattering lightly on the table in a way Harry would not have let happen under normal circumstances. “Do excuse me, Arthur. I’ll have a look at that folder later, if you’ll leave it for me.”

            “Of course,” Arthur watched the other man as he stood and went to join Merlin in the doorway, the two of them walking out and heading straight for the stairs.

            “Subtlety is not your strongest suit, Merlin,” Harry commented quietly as they reached the door to dressing room one, both of them stepping in one after the other. Harry placed his hand on the mirror and stayed still as the room began to descend down to the underground tunnel.

            “Yes, because you were not at all two seconds away from murdering the head of the Kingsman Secret Service with a bloody spoon,” Merlin retorted angrily before taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. He was still pale and panicky, fidgeting continuously where he stood. “We have a problem Galahad,” Merlin turned to face him, his expression serious.

            “What, what is it?” Harry turned to him, alarmed. Merlin was usually gifted at keeping his cool during stressful situations – courtesy of having trained generations of stubborn and thick-headed Kingsman agents – which meant that whatever had rattled him in that moment had to be very serious.

            “Q’s called,” Merlin swallowed harshly. “Eggsy’s gone missing. Or at least, he was for a short while, we’ve caught sight of him,” he hurried to add when he caught sight of the expression of his friend’s face. “But Harry, something’s wrong. He’s headed back to your place as we speak.”

            “What happened?” Harry swallowed harshly as he forced his nerves to calm down.

            Merlin observed him for a small moment before telling him. “He was with the professor for about twenty minutes before he fell off the radar. It only took us a little over an hour before catching up to him again, but something happened in between that time. He’s nearly at your house now, it’s clear you’re the one he’s aiming to see.”

            That would be true. Eggsy would have known that Q and Merlin would have him under surveillance. If he was headed towards Harry’s house, then he was doing so with the intent of having Harry meet him there as well.

            It wasn’t long before Harry found himself in front of his home, having left Kingsman the moment Merlin had finished explaining the situation to him. He fidgeted as he stepped through his door, acutely aware of the sounds emanating from his kitchen. He proceeded to walk in slowly only to find Eggsy seated at his kitchen table, a generous glass of scotch placed in front of him and a tired look on his face.

            “Before you say anything,” Eggsy started, his voice slow and exhausted, his eyes refusing to meet Harry’s, “I need to tell you something. And I need you to be absolutely quiet about it, or else I’ll never be able to let it out.”

            Harry didn’t quite know how to react and so he stayed silent.

            “I’m leaving,” Eggsy continued quietly, still avoiding his eyes. “I’m leaving for Oxford tomorrow and I won’t be coming back here anymore, Harry. I just… I can’t do this, _us_ , anymore.”

            Harry froze at the words. Oxford? But that… Oh. “Charles,” he started slowly. He knew he had made the right choice when he caught the slight looks of relief and approval in Eggsy’s gaze as he finally turned to face the older man. They must be under some sort of surveillance if Eggsy felt it was necessary to play by their aliases. Harry took a tentative step forward but was cut off when the younger man spoke up frantically.

            “Please don’t,” Eggsy shook his head, his expression pleading Harry to understand. “I’ve made my decision, Harry. We both knew this was coming; there’s no point in lying to ourselves anymore, yeah?”

            “Am I supposed to just let you leave, then?” Harry was asking truthfully. He was trying to understand what Eggsy could possibly be attempting to pull off.

            The younger man sniffed slightly as though he’d been crying, and stood up, grabbing his glass of scotch and downing it back in one shot. “I’ll have someone come round for my stuff soon,” Eggsy swallowed harshly. He met Harry’s gaze straight on once more, his eyes continuously pleading as he slowly turned his head to the side to reveal the side of his neck.

            Harry felt himself break as he caught sight of the now familiar scar on the skin below Eggsy’s ear.

            “I’m sorry we couldn’t make this work in the end, Harry. God knows we tried,” Eggsy spoke again after a while, his focus now back on Harry. The younger man’s voice sounded like he was holding back sobs as he continued to speak. “This wasn’t how I wanted it to end.”

            “For Christ’s sake, please don’t leave,” Harry begged as it finally hit him. Eggsy had done as Harry had told him to – the younger man wasn’t going to let Valentine doubt him, and so he had offered his life in return for the information they had all been searching for. He had let Valentine implant that stupid chip into his neck, and oh god, that was how it activated, wasn’t it? If the person with the implant so much as breathed a word of Valentine’s plan, it would cause the wearer to lose their fucking head. That must also be the source for the surveillance Eggsy was putting up a front for.

            Eggsy eyes were shining with unshed tears and he took the last few steps to close the distance between him and Harry. “I’m so, so sorry,” he apologised while holding back a sob, his arms wrapping around Harry’s neck and tugging him closer for one last, frantic kiss. It mirrored their actions from that very morning and Eggsy felt his heart wrench in pain at the reminder that less than twenty-four hours ago, he had been at his happiest. “Stay safe,” he whispered harshly before turning away abruptly and heading towards the front door.

            Harry could do nothing but watch helplessly as the other man walked away. He couldn’t risk Eggsy’s safety, but he couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t put the boy’s life on the line. He had a walking time-bomb in his neck that would detonate at any hint of betrayal which meant that none of them could approach him without giving away Eggsy’s real identity.

            They were so, so very fucked.


	16. Synthetic Cathinones

            “It’s been well over three bloody weeks and we still have no fucking idea where Eggsy is; Valentine has been as calm as fucking ever, and the world has yet to go fucking tits up but none of us know what to do when it does!” the last part was said with a shout, Harry completely overtaken by anger. Subconsciously though, he knew it wasn’t anger he felt, but worry; they had lost all traces of Eggsy three weeks ago and Harry could feel the worry clawing up his throat and trying to voice itself. He knew he couldn’t let that happen without consequently losing his bloody mind.

            Merlin stepped up to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder, forcefully sitting him on the chair beneath him. Logically he knew that Harry could’ve have well resisted against him, even broken Merlin’s hand if he’d felt like it, but the fact that he went along without complaint showed Merlin that Harry was just as lost as the rest of them were. The Kingsman agent was used to being directed towards targets and set loose on them; this whole ordeal of sitting around and waiting for something to happen was killing him. The fact that young Eggsy was also missing only served to further push Harry over the edge.

            “Galahad,” M sighed and pinched at the bridge of his nose, pacing the same length of carpet he’d been on for the past half hour. “We lost our main lead with 009’s disappearance. He has yet to try and contact us through any means to let us know of anything.”

            Mycroft Holmes observed them all carefully. “Is there any realm of possibility that 009 was convinced to truly join in with Valentine’s plan?” he asked the question that none of them would ever voice.

            “No,” Bond and Harry answered resolutely at the same time, their expressions that of anger and indignation at the very possibility of doubting Eggsy’s loyalty to them and their cause.

            “We have to give it time, Mr. Holmes,” Q spoke up before another fight could break out. He doubted any of them would live long if 007 and Galahad decided to team up and kill them all out of misplaced anger. “We have reason to believe that if he so much as tries to divulge any information, he would risk his head. Rather literally, might I add,” he quirked an eyebrow, his fingers drumming on the table next to his laptop.

            “Yes well, we seem to be running out of time and we have absolutely nothing to show for it,” Mycroft sighed and sat back. “I have never had such trouble solving problems like these before; I seem to be losing my touch.”

            “It isn’t about ‘losing touch’, Holmes,” M turned to face them. “It’s about the fact that Valentine is always a step ahead of us. He has his hands in both of our organizations and is therefore more than capable of hiding whatever he wants because the information never _reaches_ us. He has millions of employees working under him which means we can’t even monitor all of them, and the ones we _do_ try to monitor are very close to Valentine himself and are therefore completely shrouded in secrecy,” he was practically shouting. “The point, Mr. Holmes, is that this has nothing to do with skill. It has to do with the fact that we are a very small group of people trying to fix something that too many other people seem to be in on.”

            The five others remained silent following his outburst, thinking over his words and coming to the same conclusion. M was right about their problem not being one of skill; they were some of the world’s most gifted within their own fields. They weren’t lacking the _talent_ it would take to retrieve the information. What they _were_ lacking at that moment was pure fucking luck.

            A chirp from Merlin’s tablet drew all of their gazes, the man in question frowning as he brought it up to look it over. “I’ve been tracking Valentine’s mentions in the media so as to keep an eye on him,” Merlin explained as he tapped a few commands into the tablet, his frown deepening. “Seems Valentine is about to make an announcement on live television.” He prodded at it a few more times before the television screen on the wall flickered on, Merlin projecting the video from his tablet onto the TV for all of them to watch.

            The man himself stood on a stage in front of a large audience, his hands in his pockets as he paced around. “We each spend, on average, 2000$ a year on cellphone and internet usage. It gives me great pleasure to announce, those days are over. As of tomorrow, every man, woman, and child may claim a free sim card compatible with any cellphone, any computer, and utilise my communications network for free. Free calls, free internet, for everyone, forever.” He finished his speech to a loud round of applause, the audience ecstatic with the announcement.

            Meanwhile, the six people standing in Holmes’s office were slack jawed with the revelation. “Whatever those sim cards really do, we should be very, very worried,” Q spoke up first, his eyes still fixed on the screen. “I mean, we’re all thinking that, right?”

            “Definitely,” Merlin agreed, nodding his head.

            “Is there any way we can stop them from distributing it?” Bond turned to ask Holmes. “They’re aiming at a global-scale release; Valentine’s plan is to target the entire bloody planet. Once those sim cards are on the market, they’ll be impossible to get rid of.”

            “Are they possibly explosives?” Q pondered out-loud, his hands moving straight for his laptop. “Does he plan on blowing up every living person?”

            “He’s looking to reduce the world’s population drastically, yes,” Harry spoke up, suddenly remembering one of their earlier conversations with Professor Arnold.

            Mycroft leaned back in his chair, his hands coming up to rub at his temples. “Valentine sees the human race as a virus destroying the earth. That’s it then, isn’t it? He plans on killing most of us off while saving the select few he would use to rebuild the world the way he envisions it. This sim cards however, aren’t explosives,” he disagreed, standing up to join Merlin where he was standing. “Can you pull up your earlier files on the mission Lancelot was investigating before he died in action?”

            “Of course,” Merlin nodded and swiped at his tablet. “Uganda in 2012. Synthetic cathinones, more commonly known as ‘bath salts’, were placed in the water supply of a guerrilla army base. The results were rather devastating,” he relayed the information as he pulled up the pictures on the television screen. “We witnessed these exact same results in Chechnya a year later, although that time we found no evidence of any drugs or chemicals anywhere on the premises.”

            “They were testing ways of introducing the neurological effect of synthetic cathinones onto large groups of people at a time,” Mycroft advanced towards the screen to get a better look at the images. “The first experiment would have required all of them to have the same drinking source. The second however… it seems Valentine’s found a way to obtain the same results with a different method.”

            “You can’t honestly be telling me that the sim cards are meant to produce the same effect as ‘bath salts’?” Bond asked incredulously, his gaze darting to each and every one of them. “Is Valentine trying out for a world-wide edition of Battle Royale then?”

            “Has he perfected it, then?” M approached them as well, his gaze worried. “If he’s already gone on to distribution, does that mean he’s perfected it and no longer needs to test it?”

            Merlin and Harry shared a look, their thought process nearly identical. If that was the case, they might already be too late.

            “Valentine seems to be on the move again,” Q commented as he looked up from his ever-present computer. “I’ve been keeping track of his whereabouts these past few weeks; looks like he made his live announcement here in the UK following a meeting with… the Queen, oh god the Royal Family really is in on this, what the fuck are we supposed to do.”

            “Where is he heading now, Q?” Harry grit through his teeth while glaring at Merlin.

The other man looked away guiltily; he knew he should’ve told Harry that Valentine was nearby, but to be honest, he had no idea how his friend would have reacted to knowing he was in close proximity to the man who had caused Eggsy to disappear presumably off the face of the earth.

“His flight seems to heading towards… Kentucky, of all places,” Q frowned as he looked at the information once more. “What in the bloody hell is he going to do there?”

“Well,” Harry stood up and adjusted his suit before beginning to make his way out of the office, “I intend on finding out. Merlin, get the plane ready.”


	17. South Glade Mission Church

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that this needs to be said, but I've been pulling some dialogue from the movie in order to make it more accurate :)

            “Merlin, have you managed to obtain any information on Valentine’s whereabouts?” Harry asked into his comm as he exited the plane, a small carry-on bag filled with potential weapons at his side.

            “We’ve managed to intercept an email from Valentine to his PA; he seems to be heading towards the South Glade Mission Church,” came Merlin’s voice through his earpiece, bewilderment evident in his words. “Galahad, I may be wrong, but I think he’s off to test his newest prototype.”

            “Shit,” Harry cursed loudly. “Merlin, send me the coordinates. I’ll head there straightaway.”

            “Harry, you need to be careful.” It was rare for the tech genius to call Harry by his real name, but that was how he stressed the importance of his words. “We don’t know how many of those people are carrying Valentine’s SIM cards. You could be facing three enemies just as easily as you could be facing fifty. I don’t like these odds.”

            “Merlin, I’ll find an escape route the minute I start to feel overwhelmed. As it stands, I need to get into that church and figure out how Valentine plans to get those SIM cards working. If he had to fly here, chances are he needs to be nearby for any of this to work,” Harry continued as the coordinates were downloading onto his glasses.

            “Does that necessarily mean you have to be _inside_ the church, Harry? I’m sorry, but I really don’t like the sound of this,” the other man stated.

            “I don’t have a fucking choice; do you understand, Merlin?! I don’t have a choice,” Harry finally snapped, stopping in his tracks as anger suddenly overwhelmed him once more. “We need to stop Valentine, and this might very well be one of our only chances.” He didn’t wait for a response before heading towards where his temporary car was parked and driving his way to the church, keeping an eye out for any suspicious looking activity.

            “He’ll spot you in that church,” Merlin finally said after a moment of silence while Harry continued to drive through the small town. “He’ll make you the second you set foot in there and then it’s game over.”

            “I’ll make sure to remain inconspicuous,” he attempted to appease the other man, but the sarcastic tone might work against his favor.

            “Impossible, we all know you love making a scene. You’re just as bloody dramatic as the rest of them,” Merlin sighed and Harry knew that the man was pinching at the bridge of his nose out of pure frustration.

            Harry breathed in deeply as he attempted to once more tame his anger and let his common sense unfurl a little. Deep down, he knew Merlin was right; there was no way he'd make it into that church without drawing attention to himself. “What do you propose?” he asked wearily.

            “The church has a back entrance that’s rarely used by parishioners,” Merlin began to explain quickly, the blueprints appearing in Harry’s left lens. “Go in from there, stay in the backroom behind where the altar is located and commence observation from there. “You’ll be out of camera range but you’ll still be able to see when Valentine makes his way inside. You need to find him before he finds you.”

            “Right,” Harry memorised the details, parking his car a block away from the church and getting out to walk in the Kentucky heat.

            “Harry...” Merlin started and stopped.

            The man in question sighed; he knew where his friend was headed with that conversation. “Just bloody spill it already,” Harry’s voice was tired. He just wanted the entire ordeal dealt with so that he could find Eggsy and yell bloody murder at him until the boy understood he was never to pull something like this again.

            “I understand that you’re attached to the boy, but there’s nothing you can do for him if you’re dead. Don’t let your anger blind you and turn you reckless. You want to see Eggsy again? Then bring your arse back home in one piece, hm?”

            Harry said nothing but they both knew it meant he understood. Harry wasn’t a proud man but he tended to do things his own way, a habit which ultimately gave many of his handlers stress ulcers. Merlin understood however that one way to get him back safely was to remind him of what was waiting for him. It had rarely worked as well as it had in that moment.

            The church was in his sight and he changed his direction to head towards the back, avoiding the crowd that was loitering in the front and conversing before going in. “All set, Merlin. Any sign of Valentine yet?” Harry asked once he’d made his way inside without attracting any attention, quietly sneaking in once the back room was vacated in anticipation for the start of mass.

            “No, nothing yet.”

            “Mass is starting – if you can even call this a mass,” he muttered darkly as the speaker delved straight into one of the worst hate speeches Harry had ever heard. “I don’t see him here either,” he said as he scanned the crowd from his perch in the corner behind the altar, well hidden from the rest of the attendants.

            “Doesn’t seem like he’s on the premise at all. I don’t like this, Galahad. Get out of there, I’ll keep scanning the area while you get to a safe distance,” Merlin warned him, the sound of fingers tapping away at keys coming in through the earpiece.

            Harry was about to do just that, but he was stopped dead in his tracks when he turned around and found a woman standing there, a stack of pamphlets in her hands.

            “What are you doing here?” she eyed him curiously, her eyes taking in his expensive suit and odd demeanour.

            “My apologies,” Harry smiled charmingly, attempting to avoid any sort of confrontation. “I seem to have taken a wrong turn somewhere. I’ll be on my way out.” He made to move towards the exit when she blocked his path, her expression incredulous.

            “Where do you think you’re going?”

            “Do excuse me,” he tried to hold his smile, the action straining as he grew exasperated.

            “Hey, what’s your problem?!” she advanced towards him and get in his face.

            Well. No one can say he didn’t try to remain calm. “I’m a catholic whore, currently enjoying congress out of wedlock with my black, Jewish boyfriend, who works in a military abortion clinic. So hail Satan, and have a lovely afternoon, Madam.”

            Harry moved around her and was finally making his way to the door when he felt a heavy fog begin to settle in his head. He tried to blink away the feeling, his senses slowly shutting down on him. Soon enough, he was a mere spectator in his own body. He had no recollection of ordering his limbs to grab his gun and shoot down the woman in front of him without a second thought. He had no idea why, instead of leaving like he’d previously intended to, his body turned and walked further into the church.

            His brown eyes took in the chaos that had erupted among the masses and soon found himself absolutely compelled to join in. He had no control over anything; Harry was relegated to the back seat of his mind as he watched himself shoot down several people in a row before running out of bullets and dismantling the gun itself to stab at others with the pieces. He watched as he broke necks and bones, bashed and caved in skulls. He couldn’t stop himself from using the grenade, momentarily forgetting about it while stuck with a mind full of rage and therefore getting close enough to the blast radius to get propelled backwards.

            It wasn’t until he was the last person standing that he finally started snapping out of it. His widened eyes took in his last victim, the preacher’s head crudely skewered on a piece of wood and sliding further down.

Holding down his panic, Harry walked in a daze, his brain still trying to regain control of his wayward body. It wasn’t until he was finally outside, Merlin’s voice blasting in his ear, that he realised what had happened.

            Valentine stood on the pavement, Gazelle faithfully at his side with two other armed bodyguards standing several feet behind them. “Well, I have to say. This is quite the surprise,” Valentine admitted, taking in Harry’s dirtied and bloodied form with a critical eye. “Financial advisor, my ass.”

            “You do have to admit I look the part,” Harry smiled crookedly, reverting to sarcasm as he scrambled to get his thoughts into proper order again. “Your SIM cards are rather bloody effective, aren’t they,” he stated.

            “A hundred percent effective, yes,” Gazelle held him in her piercing gaze as she spoke. “Even those without SIM cards will find themselves going through the same symptoms. Neurological weapons at their very finest.”

            “What, exactly, is the point in doing all of this, hm?” Harry pointed to the church behind him. “Why not just kill them all with explosives instead of going through the trouble of testing and developing these SIM cards.”

            “I have my reasons, ‘Mr. Wotton’,” Valentine observed him carefully, his jaw clenched in anger. “You’re a Kingsman agent, right? One of Arthur’s. Wanting to avenge your friend who died in the mountains,” he pieced it together. “I take it ‘Charles’ is _also_ undercover agent then,” he scowled deeply. “God damnit, I fucking loved Charles. This shit won’t do though, nuh uh. V-glass, pull up subject Charles Redmayne.”

That caught Harry’s attention, his gaze fixed on Valentine as he carefully tried to monitor the man’s actions. He really should have seen it coming.

“Terminate the implant,” Valentine ordered, his eyes hard with anger.

            “No!” Harry exclaimed and made to step forward, his eyes wide with fear. A bullet aimed to his feet caused him to stay in place.

            “Too late. We don’t do well with traitors, ‘Mr. Wotton’.” He turned to his head of security. “Gazelle, show him the tablet.”

            Gazelle moved forward, her gait menacing and intimidating as her prosthetics scratched at the ground. She held out the tablet in her hand so that Harry could see the screen. The only thing on it were Eggsy’s picture and a silent audio window; across the page, the word ‘Terminated’ was flashing in red.

            “Oh fuck,” he heard Merlin breathe in his ear.

            “Let that be a fucking lesson to you,” Valentine spoke again once Gazelle made her way back to his side. “I don’t take kindly to traitors. We’re tryin’ to fix the world here, ‘Mr. Wotton’. It’s just too bad you won’t be around to see that happen.” Suddenly Valentine grabbed his gun and aimed it to Harry’s head, firing a single shot while looking away.

            The only thing Harry could think of as the bullet headed straight towards him was that Eggsy had died because of him. The boy was lying somewhere with his head fucking blown off because Harry let his frustration get the best of him, causing him to ruin not only his own cover, but Eggsy’s as well. Harry had managed to kill two generations of Unwin men because of his mistakes.

            He closed his eyes when he heard the gun shot, feeling his insides turn to ice as thoughts of the others never finding Eggsy played out in his mind. The boy’s mother was right in the end; Eggsy died with no body to bring back home.

            Valentine was still facing away as the body hit the pavement, his hand over his mouth in disgust as he resisted the urge to vomit everywhere. He saw Gazelle turn to face him with a large smile on her face. “Is he dead?” Valentine asked, horrified.

            “That tends to happen when you shoot someone in the head. Feels good, right?” she smiled at him sweetly.

            “No, no, it does not feel good! It feels fucking awful!” he exclaimed, still holding back the urge to puke.

            “What! You just killed how many people in that church! This is one guy –”

            “No, no, no, they killed each other!” Valentine insisted but decided not to press the issue. “Okay, send down the countdown clock. This party starts tomorrow,” he announced after a moment of contemplation. He had plans to get back to.

            They walked away, leaving a lone body sprawled on the pavement outside the church.


	18. Countdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this seems a bit rushed, I apologise! I'll make sure to go over it again when I get the time!

            Arthur sat at his usual place at the head of the table, his eyes fixated on nothing in particular while the knights around him mourned the loss of another one of their agents. Arthur himself was mentally preoccupied with another matter; just a few hours ago, Valentine had sent him a segment from his personal video feed, showing him what he’d suspected for a while. Galahad had been onto him since he’d returned from the Imperial College with no viable information from Professor Arnold. The man had known since then that Arthur had turned his back on the promises he’d made when he’d been given his position.

            “We took care of the problem,” Valentine told Arthur after having made him watch the video of Harry being shot. “Make sure there aren’t any others like him. We can’t afford to be held back right now.”

            The head of Kingsman knew what that meant. Galahad hadn’t been working alone. If that Unwin boy had also been in on it, then who knew how many others had been involved in the first place? He could already think of one name in particular, but he had to be certain…

            Arthur made his speech and drank from the decanter with all the others, displaying the appropriate amount of grief; it wasn’t hard for him to feel sadness at the situation. Despite their differences, he had still known Harry Hart for a very long time. They may have stood at odd ends of the spectrum in regards to the particular issue at hand, but it was not easy to forget someone you had watched grow for thirty-odd years. That was the life of a Kingsman agent however; one had to sacrifice greatly to better the world. Harry, unfortunately, could not see it that way.

             Arthur sighed and sat back. He’d only just turned off the Kingsman glasses-transmission and taken the blasted things off his face when the doors suddenly opened, and in strolled what Arthur was fairly certain was a ghost. After all, he’d only just seen a video of the man being shot a few hours ago.

            “Hello Chester,” Harry greeted darkly, not even a hint of a smile on his face. “I don’t suppose you’d want to make this easy for all of us and just turn yourself in, would you?”

            “… Galahad,” Arthur said after a stricken moment. “We just finished drinking a toast in your honour. Though I see now that it was perhaps a bit premature.” He kept staring at the man, trying to determine whether or not he was beginning to lose it in his old age. Was that really Harry standing there?

            “Yes well,” Harry walked in, not bothering to close the doors behind him. He headed straight for his normal spot, unbuttoning his jacket and taking a seat as though it were any other normal day. He reached forward to grab the decanter from in front of Arthur, pouring himself a generous glass. “To my death,” he toasted and gulped the whole thing down in one shot. “By God, I should die more often. This truly is very good,” he kept on smiling, a satisfied expression on his face.

            That smiled terrified the other man. “How in the bloody hell are you still alive?” Arthur finally thought to ask, his eyes widening as he finally confirmed the man sitting at his side was indeed Harry and not a ghost. “Valentine recorded you taking a bullet to the head.”

            “It doesn’t take much to make someone believe you’re dead when that was their aim in the first place,” Harry twirled the small glass around. “I also had some help, of course; you didn’t honestly think I was doing this by myself, did you?” he raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

            “Merlin,” Arthur stated simply. He was certain of the other man’s involvement; wherever Harry went, Merlin followed, and vice versa.

            “Well Merlin had a great deal to do with it, yes,” another voice spoke up from the doorway, attracting the attention of the two figures seated at the table. “Though I supposed you could include us as well.”

            The tall, blond man that strolled in next was unfamiliar to Arthur. The stranger held himself with the casual air of someone who believed he knew everything, but the steel of his blue eyes betrayed the thinly veiled rage that hid behind them.

            “I do believe we deserve some of the credit as well,” the man smirked dangerously, coming to a stop on Harry’s right side. He remained standing however, opting not to take a seat at the unfamiliar table.

            Arthur stared at him for another moment. “I don’t believe we’ve ever met,” he finally said, bewilderment in his voice.

            “No, you’re quite right about that. We haven’t met,” the man smiled dangerously. “Agent 007. I believe you were acquainted with my young charge, Agent 009.”

            It took a moment for it to click, but Arthur finally understood why the young Mr. Unwin had made it so far into the trials. It would’ve been easy for an MI6 agent to pass the trials after already having completed missions that would’ve been more demanding than tests. Arthur could rest assured now in knowing that, had the circumstances been different and had the boy not been an MI6 agent, Eggsy would not have made it so close to becoming a reputable Kingsman agent. They held higher standards, after all. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he chose to say instead. It would not do to provoke these men unnecessarily.

            “Do not speak of him, you have no right to do so,” Harry spat out angrily, shaking his head as he fought not to let thoughts of the younger man derail him. “How could you, Arthur?” he forced himself back onto the subject at hand. “How could you turn your back on the very organization you’ve been charged with leading for over a decade? Valentine’s plan –”

            “Valentine’s plan is essential for the survival of the human race, Galahad,” Arthur cut him off cleanly. “You would know this if you just took the time to listen to him –”

            “The man is planning to commit a genocide!” Harry blew up. “Do you understand that?! Men, women, children, all of them will be affected by the SIM cards once they’re activated. None of them deserve this.”

            “Galahad,” Arthur started calmly. “I understand your reaction is partially caused by grief; the boy’s death must have struck quite a cord, given your… attachment to him, but sacrifices must be made for the greater good of the world. Surely you must see that.”

            Clearly Harry did not, because in the next moment, he grabbed hold of the pen that was sitting at the table, uncapped it, and stabbed Arthur neatly in the jugular, all while remaining in his own seat.

            “Well...” Bond began to say as they watched the old man choke on his own blood with disinterest. “That was certainly one way to do it.”

            Just then, two other figures approached the door. At the sight of Arthur bleeding out over the table, Roxy drew her gun out and aimed it straight at Harry.

            “It’s alright, Lancelot,” Merlin told her as he took in the sight of the man he once served unquestionably slumping over and exhaling his last breath.

            Roxy glanced at the bespectacled man, trusting his word over that particular matter but not lowering her gun just yet. “Where’s Eggsy?” she asked instead, her aim still on Harry. She watched Galahad and the man sitting next to him flinch, the splatter of blood on Harry’s cheek a stark contrast to his pale skin. “Where. Is. Eggsy?” she asked again, more roughly this time around. Her eyes flickered to Merlin who was still standing by her side. “I was told he dropped out, but that wasn’t true, was it.” It wasn’t a question.

            “Eggsy’s dead, Lancelot,” Merlin finally spoke up. “He was an undercover MI6 agent helping us with an internal mission. He was killed in action a few hours ago.” He averted his gaze from Harry’s reaction to the admission, the misery clear as day on his friend’s face.

            Roxy trained her gaze back on Harry to gauge his reaction. “Is this true?” she swallowed, not willing to believe it. At the other man’s solemn nod, Roxy lowered her gun with a trembling hand. “Was Arthur behind it?”

            “He was involved, yes,” Merlin confirmed darkly.

Arthur’s phone pinged loudly just then, interrupting any other questions Roxy wanted to ask. When none of the others moved to get it, Roxy moved forward and pulled the phone out of Arthur’s jacket, unflinching despite all the blood. “They’re coordinates,” she stated out loud while looking at the screen, “coupled with a timer that’s just started counting down.”

“That’s where Valentine will be,” Harry told them. “It must be their safe zone. They need to be a certain distance away from any SIM cards so as not to be affected by them.”

“I’ll get the plane ready. See if you can’t get that implant out of his neck,” Merlin nodded his head towards the dead man. “It might help us along the way.”

At the mention of the implant, Bond and Harry’s expression darkened significantly. Bond had started moving forward but before he could so much as take two steps, Roxy, who had already been standing next to the body, grabbed the pen out of Arthur’s jugular. She was unmindful of the bloody mess she was leaving behind her, choosing to focus on carefully observing the mark on the man’s neck. “Is it under the scar?” she asked them, already moving the tip of the pen closer to cut the skin open, followed by her fingers digging into the flesh for a moment before pulling out a small bit of metal with a long wire attached to it. She held it out to Merlin with bloody hands, ignoring the looks they were collectively sending her.

“… Thank you, Lancelot,” Merlin nodded before grabbing the offering. “We should get going now,” he told the other two.

“I’m coming with you,” Roxy spoke up when they made to move. Just as they looked like they were about to protest, she stopped them. “You’re telling me there’s a megalomaniac who’s getting ready to kill a good portion of the population and you _don’t_ want my help?” she stared them down. “If this asshole is also the one who killed Eggsy, then I want in, whether you like it or not.”

Merlin exchanged glances with Harry and shrugged. “She _is_ a Kingsman agent,” he stated. “We could use all the help we can get.”


	19. Bloody Edge of the Atmosphere

            “Alright so what’s the bloody plan?” James asked as he outfitted himself, placing guns and knives in places most normal people would avoid hiding sharp objects. “Are we meant to just storm through their hideout, guns blazing, with only three people?”

            “One actually,” Merlin corrected him as he dropped a large bad at their feet. It was filled with what looked like huge robotic parts. “I’m afraid Lancelot will be occupied with trying to take down the satellite ring in order to buy us some more time,” he explained as he headed towards the cockpit, missing the look of startled curiosity on Roxy’s face. “Lancelot, the suit will take you up to the edge of the atmosphere; from there, you’ll have one chance to aim at and shoot down one of Valentine’s satellites so as to break the ring.”

            Roxy muttered to herself darkly before solemnly nodding. She wouldn’t let herself complain, not matter how much the idea of going to the _bloody edge of the atmosphere_ terrified her.

            “Hold on, I’m doing the storming by myself, then!” Bond exclaimed and turned to look at them with wide eyes.

            “007, you’ll be impersonating Arthur; I need you to find Q and I some way to connect to Valentine’s network,” he went on explaining without paying attention to the other man’s interruption. He walked to the cockpit and spoke at the same time, “I would’ve asked Galahad to take on the role, but unfortunately, I’m fairly certain a good number of these people might recognise him, including Valentine’s assistant. Galahad, you’ll be on standby with me in the aircraft.”

            “No,” Harry disagreed, already arming himself. “I will not be on _standby_ ,” he enunciated the dreadful word with distaste. “I will rip Valentine’s head off his neck with my own bare hands,” he spat out as he bent down to attach a blade around the small of his ankle.

            Merlin sighed and walked back to face Harry and his stubborn streak head on. “Galahad. They will make us the second you walk out of this plane and into that bunker; they know your face, they’ve most likely already seen you with Eggsy at the gala. We cannot afford to start a fight without our connection to Valentine’s network in place, especially not when we’re so outnumbered,” he told him seriously. “007 will take Arthur’s phone and impersonate him for the time it will take for him to connect us. You’re here in case we need back-up. Is that understood?” Merlin hated ordering his friend about but without an Arthur in place – and as second in command – Merlin was now in charge, and he would not let their friend endanger all of them for his revenge, no matter how well-deserved it was.

            Roxy looked at them in stunned silence; Merlin may have mentored and trained them, but she’d never seen him quite like that before.

            “Merlin…” Harry started, already constructing some sort of plan to break out and defy his friend’s orders.

            “That’s enough, Galahad,” Merlin cut him off abruptly. “Either you agree with the plan or so help me god, I will drop you off in the mountains with Lancelot and you’ll wait there for us to finish.”

            Bond watched the entire ordeal with renewed amusement, his blue eyes shifting from person to person as they spoke. “Is this what it’s like to deal with me?” he asked himself out loud, holding back a snort when both men turned to glare viciously at him.

            “As much fun as it is to listen to you all bickering like children, you’re reaching Lancelot’s drop-off point. If you would all be so kind so as to let her get ready, it would be much appreciated,” Q’s exasperated voice boomed over the communications system.

Merlin had contacted Q, M, and Holmes once they’d gotten hold of Arthur’s mobile in order to warn them of the oncoming attack. It had taken quite a lot of time, but they had finally managed to convince M and Holmes to put all of MI6 in lockdown for the duration of the mission, and to keep themselves safe in the meantime. Q was already aware that he’d be of more help to them if he stuck to the computers he had in Q-branch.

“Are we meant to sit here and do nothing?!” M had asked over the phone in anger when the plan was first brought up.

“You should be quite used to that by now,” Bond muttered quietly. “What?” he asked Merlin when he saw the man throw him an exasperated glance.

“We have no other choice,” the temporary head of Kingsman tried to tell them. “The attack is happening soon and it would be safer for everyone if you were to hide. We’d rather not have you on a killing rampage as well.”

That shut them up rather quickly.

Once Roxy was outfitted and ready to begin her ascent, Merlin turned to Harry. “Am I leaving you here? Or are you coming with us.”

“What do you think,” Harry answered darkly as he climbed the steps back up to the aircraft, deliberately ignoring the amused look his friend sent his way.

“You’ve got this,” Merlin said as he turned back to Roxy, more than aware of her fear. “Lancelot, you’ve got this,” he repeated once she shifted her eyes back to him.

“Sure,” she nodded with a grimace, her hands gripping the controls tightly, “I’ve only just got to get to the edge of the atmosphere, that’s no problem whatsoever. I do it practically every day,” the sarcasm was heavy in her voice. Her eyes widened drastically however when she realised who she was talking to. “Oh god, I’m sorry, forget I said anything.”

“Lancelot, you’re allowed to panic,” he chuckled slightly. “But knowing you, you’ll get the mission done anyways,” he told her truthfully.

Roxy took a deep breath and nodded as she began to float upwards. She watched the others board the plane once more and stared solemnly as they began their take-off.

With the plane back in the air, Merlin started fiddling with the implant, looking at it from every possible angle under a magnifying glass. “It’s just as we thought,” he confirmed heavily as he pulled away. “The implant was designed to ward off whatever effects the SIM cards would cause, meaning the wearer would be completely exempt and unaffected. I’m assuming, however, Valentine hasn’t told any of them about that nasty security mechanism that’s in place,” he scowled as he stood back up.

Harry swallowed harshly as he thought of the man whose head he had seen explode and which had resulted in Harry being trapped in a coma; had Eggsy gone through the same thing when his implant had been terminated? Harry could feel the bile rising up his throat as he attempted not to picture it. Valentine would not have an easy death if he had anything to say about it.

It wasn’t much longer before they’d arrived safely at the designated meeting point, the guards letting them in easily enough, Merlin piloting the plane to a stop where indicated. “Alright,” he turned to Bond. “Take this,” he said as he handed Arthur’s mobile, “and give the name Chester King. It shouldn’t be a problem after that.”

“Got it,” James nodded and took the phone.

“Don’t get caught,” Merlin warned him.

“And for the love of god, don’t make a scene,” Q muttered over the comm line.

“For you Q, always,” Bond laughed as Merlin opened the door and walked down.

Q sighed. “We’re all fucked.”

Harry nodded his head in agreement. “Don’t we know it.”

He watched from the plane as Bond handed the phone over and accepted to being swept for weapons. Clearly he must’ve made sure they were undetectable as he was given the all clear. “Q,” Harry addressed the younger man while Bond walked further in to the bunker, “is there no way to access the network from your point?”

“I’m afraid not; Valentine has a nearly impenetrable firewall that’s completely closed off. The only way for us to play around with the network is to have an already stable connection to it.” Harry could hear the younger man typing away rapidly over the line. “Given enough time, we would’ve succeeded in cracking through the protection, but we can’t afford to do that at the moment, not if the countdown is set for another… two hours, shit.”

“Lancelot will be able to buy us more time soon,” Merlin spoke up as he walked back in and took his place in the cockpit. “We just need 007 to get us into that network first.”

Bond got them into the network, of course. However it didn’t happen as quietly as they’d been aiming for.

“What in the bloody hell happened?!” Merlin asked 007 through his earpiece as sounds of fighting reached them and the countdown went from a little under two hours to two bloody minutes.

“Well, I may or may not have been recognised by a man whose wife I may or may not have slept with on a previous mission two years ago,” Bond admitted over the line as he fought his way out and back to the airplane.

“Another bloody scene,” Q muttered, his hands tapping wildly over computer keys. “At least you got us in first.”

“There’s something else too,” Bond was interrupted as he stopped to head-butt a man and continued on. “Galahad, seems one of the candidates for Lancelot’s position was also here.”

For a moment, Harry had the faintest hope that Bond meant he’d seen Eggsy, but he knew that wasn’t true. He also knew that Bond would’ve reacted differently if he had.

“That bloke Charlie,” 007 continued as he fought his way through a large group of soldiers. “He was here with his family, it seems”

“Of fucking course,” Harry spat. Figured Arthur’s candidate would be as much of a traitor as Arthur was.

“Get here quick, 007, we need to get the fuck out,” Merlin interrupted them. “Lancelot, shoot now!”

“Yes Merlin,” Roxy called out as she got ready to fire the shot. Just then however, one of the balloons burst, causing her to completely lose her aim as she fell slightly sideways. “Shit!” she cursed, her heart jumping with panic.

“Come on, Lancelot!” Merlin called as he watched the timer get closer to zero. “We’re running out of time!”

“Just a second, Merlin!” she said through grit teeth as she locked her aim on the target and fired right before the second balloon popped. “Got it!”

In the meantime, Harry was already readying himself to hop out of the plane and help Bond when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Galahad –”

“Merlin, he’s already been made. It doesn’t matter if they recognise me now, the whole sneaking about bit has officially gone tits up, now kindly fuck off and let me do my job,” Harry explained as he went to open the door.

“Just… be careful, yeah?” Merlin let him go. “You tend to become slightly careless with your life when you’re angry.”

“Oh, I’m not _angry_ ,” Harry scoffed as he climbed down the stairs, umbrella at the ready. “No, definitely not _angry_.”

Merlin sighed as he turned back to his computer and watched the satellite’s destruction. “Lancelot, release now!” he ordered as he watched her descent.

Roxy nodded and, with shaky hands, reached down to undo her belt and let herself fall freely. Merlin was going to get a bloody earful after this.

“You realise we’ll most likely be bringing both of them back in body bags, don’t you?” Q quipped over the comm as they watched Harry and James make their way through the heavy security.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” came the tired reply. “Oh shit!” Merlin exclaimed as another satellite moved to replace the one they’d just destroyed. “Oh no, no, no!”

“What the hell are we supposed to do, Merlin?” Q asked frantically. “He’ll have that one up in less than a minute! We won’t have as much time as we initially thought we would.”

“We seem to have an even bigger problem,” Merlin cursed as he looked at his screen. “Looks like Valentine’s got biometric security in place. We can’t hack past that. Galahad, 007,” Merlin called to them as he got back to grab his own gun. “You need to head back! Valentine’s security is impossible to get through and he’s already programmed another satellite, we have no time whatsoever!”

“For fuck’s sake, we’re almost back at the plane!” Bond cursed as he shot three consecutive bullets.

“I’m clearing the path for you right now, 007,” Harry’s voice came through. “We’ll regroup here and replenish our weapons before heading back.” The sound of bodies hitting the floor was easily heard as Galahad took down soldier after soldier.

Merlin cursed to himself as he listened to the sound of Q’s hands fly over the keys, trying to figure out how in the hell things could go so wrong in such little time.

“Will you be needin’ a little help, boys?” an amused voice suddenly filtered in through their private lines.

Merlin would have had a fit over their own dreadful security had he not recognised the voice. “Eggsy?” he called out tentatively.


	20. Shall We?

            “Will you be needin’ a little help, boys?”

            Harry nearly took a hit to the face when the voice suddenly came through his earpiece because he _knew_ that voice. He _knew_ it, but it couldn’t be possible.

            “Eggsy?” Merlin’s voice followed, full of shock and disbelief.

            Well then, Harry was apparently not hallucinating. As he dodged another hit and broke a soldier’s wrist before completely taking him down, he turned to look at Bond. Even the other agent looked mildly surprised, however less than Harry would have expected him to be. Harry would have to question him thoroughly once they were done with that entire mess.

            There was a conversation happening between Merlin and a – presumably – live Eggsy, but Harry and Bond were slightly too occupied trying to stay alive to hear it. They took down the last four soldiers that were blocking their path back before rushing towards the plane and running up the stairs to join a shell-shocked Merlin standing in the doorway. He moved aside but not before casting Harry a pleading look that read _Please don’t freak out, we don’t have the time to deal with this at the moment_.

            There was no one else standing in the plane but Eggsy’s voice was transmitting through every speaker. “I get that I’ve got a lot of explainin’ to do,” he began once the others were safely inside and stocking up on weapons again, “and I swear I’ll get to it, but we should probably finish this first. We’re fucked if that satellite gets into place before we stop Valentine.”

            Harry stood gaping in the middle of the aircraft, unable to believe that the voice they were all hearing was actually Eggsy’s. He shook his head as though he were trying to rid himself of a particularly resilient hallucination but even that didn’t work. Maybe he’d taken a hard enough knock to the head earlier and was dreaming instead.

            “Harry,” Eggsy called to him, pulling the man out of his thoughts. When he looked around, he saw both Bond and Merlin staring right at him, indicating that they’d been calling for him for some time but he hadn’t been listening. “I swear I’ll tell you everythin’, but I really am here, alrigh’?” Eggsy continued over the comm, trying to reassure the older man even when he couldn’t see him.

            “Where are you?” Merlin asked when Harry made no move to answer.

            “Stealin’ some of Valentine’s weapons, as it were,” he grunted as he lifted something. “I’m hopin’ they don’t miss it too much,” he chuckled breathlessly.

            “I shouldn’t even be surprised,” Bond commented darkly while replenishing his own weapons. “You couldn’t have given us a bloody warning to let us know you were still alive somewhere?”

            “Because you always warn us when you pull a disappearin’ act, right Bond?” the sarcasm was dripping from his voice. “Let’s go, 007!” Eggsy suddenly laughed again as the sound of a door opening was heard from his side. “We’ve got people to kill, you old man.”

            “Kindly fuck off, 009,” James threw back as he readied to exit the plane again. “Bloody prissy child. Whose he calling an old man,” he muttered on his way down the steps, not even bothering to wait for the other agent to join him. “Comes back out of the blue, doesn’t even say hello to the man who practically _raised_ him these last two years, no!” could still be heard as he walked away.

            “Look at that, 009 pulled a 007, how utterly surprising,” Q piped up over the comms, his tone not even the least bit surprised at the revelation.

            Harry turned to face Merlin with a bewildered expression, still unable to make himself address the younger man he thought he’d lost.

            “Just go,” Merlin sighed while handing him a new umbrella. “Make sure he doesn’t get killed. Again.”

            That thought had Harry racing out the door, a pressing urge to find Eggsy safe and sound pushing him to go faster.

            Unfortunately, Valentine had a bit of a surprise waiting for them; soldiers came at them from all sides. Even Merlin had a small army heading his way, ready to blow up his plane.

            “Well that’s us absolutely fucking fucked,” came Eggsy’s frustrated voice. “Unless…” he paused as he suddenly thought of something. “Merlin! Can you turn the implants on?!”

            “Absolutely fucking not,” Harry’s voice cut through abruptly. It was the first thing he’d said since he’d first heard Eggsy speaking. “We’re not risking your life again.”

            “Harry, shut up! I know what I’m doing!” Eggsy exclaimed loudly. “Merlin, can you or can’t you!”

            After a moment’s hesitation, the other man finally answered. “Yes, I can,” he said as he moved towards the computer, his hands already flying over the keys. “Q, mind lending me a bit of a hand?”

            “Already on it,” the younger man replied from his end. “I’ll keep Valentine locked from his controls, you go wreak some havoc.”

            “Right. My turn to play, Valentine. Eggsy, are you sure you’re safe?” Merlin asked one more time as his typed up command after command.

            “Just fucking do it!” Eggsy cursed as another string of bullets flew over his head.

            On the other side of the bunker, Harry was struggling to get to wherever Eggsy was, mentally pleading the younger man to not unnecessarily endanger himself; Eggsy was not a child, Harry knew that. If Eggsy told Merlin to do something, he had more than likely thought it through. Harry however could not get rid of the feeling that something bad was going to happen once those implants activated. Seeing Eggsy safe with his own eyes would be the only way for him to calm down.

            When the commands finally went through, Merlin breathed in deeply. “Yes, please,” he said as he pressed down when prompted, half-tempted to close his eyes so as not to witness the possibility of having just killed Eggsy for the second time.

            All around Harry, the guards began to literally lose their heads. He made sure to be as far away from them as possible so as not to fall into another coma the way he had the first time.

            From their separate monitors, Merlin and Q watched in rapture as every person Valentine recruited for his plan suddenly found themselves dying off one by one with fireworks popping out from their necks.

            “Oh god, that is fucking spectacular!” Merlin exclaimed, his eyes wide behind his glasses. He had momentarily forgotten about his previous concerns.

            “Merlin, Q, you’re both fucking geniuses!” Eggsy’s voice came through every earpiece, causing Harry to exhale in absolute relief; the implants exploding hadn’t affected the boy.

            Valentine’s voice suddenly boomed over the speakers, putting a stop to their cheering. “Did you really think I was stupid enough to put one of those things into my own head? What are you, fucking crazy?! All those fucking innocent people killed, and for what? You didn’t. Stop. Shit!” The countdown song started blaring, indicating that they had indeed initiated the attack. “It’s still happening!”

            “The signal’s started! You need to get Valentine’s hand off that bloody desk, now!” Merlin shouted.

            “Fucking biometrics system is giving me a fucking ulcer,” Q muttered under his breath. “I can’t do anything for you from here.”

            “That’s fine Q, focus on keeping MI6 under control,” he instructed before turning his eyes back to the screens. “Is anyone going to reach Valentine any fucking time soon?!”

            “On it, Merlin!” Eggsy called out as he finally reached the main room, Harry and 007 arriving not ten seconds after him. There was no time for warm reunions as they had to focus on getting to the impossible glass room with no visible entrance. Eggsy nodded at Harry and Bond before all three of them pulled up their guns and started shooting at the glass. The song finally cut off as Gazelle pushed Valentine away from the desk and down onto the floor.

Merlin sat back in relief. “You did it!” he exclaimed, amazed.

“Not for long! How do we get up there?!” Eggsy looked around for some sort of staircase.

            “Just keep shooting at it, I’ll find a route!” He was already pulling up blueprints of the building when the sound of glass shattering caught their attention.

            Gazelle had just leaped out the window, guns up and at the ready as she aimed shots at all three of them before landing gracefully on the floor. Bond being the only one without a bulletproof suit was slightly grazed, but not more injured than that.

            “It’s three against one, Gazelle,” Eggsy warned her once he’d gotten back up from his defensive position, his gun at the ready. “You know you ain’t winnin’.”

            “Do I?” she smiled a cutting grin, before throwing her guns to the ground. She didn’t need them. “I knew not to trust you,” she told him. Around them, the music picked up again.

            “You’re being distracted, for fuck’s sake, do something!” Merlin shouted in warning as Valentine put his hand back on the desk.

            Harry pulled up his weapon and aimed it at Valentine before turning to glance at Eggsy.

            “You ready?” Eggsy asked him with a small smile.

            “Always,” Harry answered him honestly.

            “Well then,” Bond cut in with his signature smirk. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”


	21. Mombasa

            “We averted one world crisis only to be faced with another,” Holmes sighed as he stood among the wreckage of Valentine’s ‘party’ room, his fingers rubbing at his temples as he felt an oncoming migraine.

            “We’ve only just started taking count of how many people we’ve lost who happened to important global positions,” M sighed as he glanced down wearily at all the bodies covering the floor. He held his disgust at bay when he stepped in something he was fairly certain was pieces of someone’s brain. “Unfortunately many countries are going to find themselves deprived of their political leaders for the time being.”

Eggsy winced as the paramedic tightened the bandage over his stitches, his forearm throbbing in pain. He watched his boss’s expression carefully, monitoring whether or not he was going to get in trouble for having suggested detonating the implants in the first place; this meant that he wasn’t paying attention to the fact that Harry’s eyes had not left him since they managed to kill Valentine.

“What of the prisoners?” Holmes looked around, assessing the damage the whole ordeal had caused. “How many have made it out safely?”

“There are no casualties among them, sir,” another agent who had been conducting the clean-ups confirmed. “There are about a hundred prisoners in total sir, we’re in the process of freeing them from their cells. It also seems that all of our high-profile missing cases from these last few months have been found here, sir.”

“Good, we might be able to hold off a full global meltdown then,” Mycroft sighed again, his shiny oxfords scraping at the glass on the ground. “How long before we can safely evacuate everyone out of here?”

“Approximately another two hours, sir,” the agent replied dutifully.

“Alright, carry on,” Holmes nodded before turning to M. “What of all the breaches in MI6?”

“They’re currently splattered a bit everywhere but we’ll get another clean-up crew to take care of that mess,” M’s smile was strained as he thought of the amount of people who had betrayed MI6 and the country they served. “What about them?” he nodded his head at the exhausted agents who really just wanted to sleep for days on end.

Q sat in a chair, his upper half slumped over and his head resting on a clean part of one of the round tables, his glasses pressing into his face, and for once nowhere near a computer. Bond sat next to him, his chair kicked back and his legs extended onto another seat. He had one hand holding an ice-pack to his face and the other rubbing at the nape of Q’s neck. Merlin was standing up, unable to keep his restless legs from wanting to move around. His bespectacled eyes were glued to his tablet as he finally got the chance to explore Valentine’s private network without the threat of global annihilation hanging over his shoulders.

Eggsy on the other hand was with the paramedics not too far away, his injuries taking slightly more time to take care of; dealing with Gazelle on his own had not been easy at all, as was evidenced by the damage her legs had left on his person. Roxy was standing next to him while still in her halo suit, her expression switching constantly between one of worry because she’d nearly lost her friend, and one of exasperation because she’d nearly lost her friend _again_. Eggsy winced as they jabbed repeatedly at a particularly deep wound on his shoulder before one of the paramedics caught sight of the scar on his neck. “By gods, who in the hell treated that?!” the woman exclaimed, her gloved hands going up to tilt his head forcefully to the side.

“Ow, it was a rush job!” Eggsy exclaimed, his body twitching as he fought not to shove all of them away like a prissy child. “I ain’t exactly had the time to go off to some hospital now, did I?!”

Harry, who had refused to let the younger man out of his sight since the end of the fight, took a step forward without realising it. He had yet to say a word to Eggsy since the fight was Valentine had ended, but he hovered around him nonetheless, making sure the paramedics were paying proper attention to the younger agent’s injuries. That cry of pain nearly had him sprinting forward in anger, ready to break the hand of whoever had caused it but he kept his rage in check once the actual circumstances had become more apparent to his tired mind.

“Yes, speaking of that, 009,” M approached him, Holmes not too far behind, “mind telling us where in the hell you’ve been these last three weeks?”

“Mombasa,” Eggsy winced as the woman jabbed at the nasty scar on his neck. “Had to find some way to remove that stupid shit without Valentine figurin’ out any of you were involved. Also had to do it without givin’ myself away or else he’d have already blown up my head by now.”

“You went to see that bloody forger, didn’t you?” Bond scoffed lightly from his spot. “Hasn’t he been arrested yet?”

“Oi, sod off. If it weren’t for him and his doctor friend, I’d be dead by now, thanks,” Eggsy replied darkly. “Oxford just so happened to have an environmental trip planned to Mombasa, so I tagged along. Happy fuckin’ coincidence,” he winced again. “Took a few trial and error practices to get the fuckin’ thing out without activating it; ain’t exactly had the chance to get it looked at since. Flew back the minute I could only to find out the lot of you were already on the way here.”

“When Valentine terminated the implant,” Harry finally spoke up, his eyes fixed on the scar, “had it already been removed?”

Eggsy stared at the man for a moment; it wasn’t that he’d forgotten Harry was there, quite the contrary. It was impossible not to be aware of the holes the man was piercing into the back of Eggsy’s head; no, what surprised him was that he’d actually spoken up. Eggsy was under the impression that Harry was giving him some sort of advanced form silent treatment, the type that would last forever. “We’d only just finished removin’ it when it exploded on the table,” he finally said, forcing himself to avert his gaze to focus on the paramedic’s hands instead. “We thought it just meant the implant was designed to self-destruct as some sort of defense mechanism to keep others from studying it. I’m guessin’ that ain’t true then?”

“Valentine terminated your implant when Galahad was found out,” Holmes explained to him, his gaze penetrating. “He correctly assumed that if Galahad was a spy then you would have been as well.”

Eggsy swallowed harshly, his head nodding. He’d have a lot of questions to ask Harry after this, if the man ever chose to speak to him again. “So, since then…”

“You were considered to have been killed in action, yes,” M confirmed, carefully observing his young agent’s reaction. He was mildly satisfied to see he was still as skilled as ever when it came to people watching; just as he’d predicted, 009’s gaze went swiftly to Harry’s tense figure, comprehension dawning on the younger man’s face.

Roxy seemed to have come to the same conclusion as M as she watched the interaction between Eggsy and the man she had thought to be his mentor.

“Right,” Eggsy nodded slowly, finally understanding a part of the reason why Harry kept hovering around him but hadn’t dared to actually approach him or say anything to him. “Wait,” he suddenly realised, “Valentine found out about Harry?”

“Oh yes, you weren’t the only one who technically played dead,” Bond assured him, though he became slightly sheepish when both Merlin and Harry turned to glare at him. Roxy glanced at Merlin for clarification but he merely shook his head, indicating that he’d explain it all to her after.

“For the love of –” Holmes sighed and cut himself off. “All of you just leave. _Please_.” He was nearly begging them at that point. “Take the plane, go back to your residences and sleep for about twenty-four hours. I expect you all in my office right after; we’re going to wrap this bloody thing up once and for all before going our separate ways.”

Eggsy’s stomach flipped as the words registered in his head. He felt his throat dry up because he’d forgotten, hadn’t he. He’d forgotten that he and Harry didn’t usually work together; Harry, no, _Galahad_ belonged with Kingsman. Agent 009 belonged with MI6. In a little over twenty-four hours, they’d most likely never cross paths again. Before the whole chaotic mess that was Valentine’s plan, the two agencies never crossed paths because they worked with different interests; MI6 was a government branch, run by the government _for_ the government. The Kingsman Secret Service was an independent organization that functioned on the belief that the inclusion of politics and government operatives hindered its true purpose. Had it not been for the fact that both agencies suddenly found themselves down to a handful of trustworthy agents after the same goal, they would have never allied themselves together. In a little over twenty-four hours, their worlds would go back to their separate missions and their separate lives, and Eggsy would never see Harry again.

Eggsy followed the others blindly as they made their way back to the plane, his mind still whirring. He could not stop thinking of the inevitable. In fact at that point, he doubted he even had another twenty-four hours to spend with Harry. He surreptitiously cast a glance towards the older man and saw him walking with his eyes forward and his jaw clenched tightly. There was no doubt that Harry was angry, and that made Eggsy wonder if the sentiment was enough to make the other man not want to see him at all. With that thought, he felt his heart drop even further.

Once in the plane, Eggsy took a seat on the very edge of the couch and tried to make himself as small as possible. It was a slight relief when Roxy was the one who came to sit next to him, her hand coming up to rub at his uninjured shoulder. He wasn’t certain if he could handle being next to Harry Hart when the man refused to speak to him.

“You alright?” she asked him quietly.

“Been better,” he tried to smile but found he couldn’t succeed. Instead, he let his head drop to her shoulder and closed his eyes, willing away all thoughts of what was to come. Eggsy was asleep before they even took off.

He came awake a few hours later to a hand on his arm gently shaking him awake. He blinked his blue eyes open expecting to be faced with Roxy, but he felt his heart stop when he caught sight of Harry standing there instead.

“Come on,” the man told him quietly.

Eggsy hesitated for a moment before standing up and dutifully following him. Outside, he noticed that they were alone, the others having already all left.

“I told them not to wait on us,” Harry explained as he made his way to where his taxi was parked, slipping effortlessly into the driver’s seat without waiting for an answer.

The younger man only stared after him for a moment; he then shook himself out of his stupor and joined Harry, the door closing behind him as he settled into the passenger seat. “Where we headed?” He was almost afraid to ask.

“My house,” Harry replied without further explanation.

Eggsy chose to stay quiet for the rest of the ride, unsure of what exactly was going on but understanding the fact that Harry most likely wanted answers he didn’t yet have.

They entered the house quietly, neither of them making any noise as they stepped past the threshold. Eggsy could feel the fatigue of the past few weeks weighing on him, but he forced himself to stay awake and attentive; there would most likely be a lengthy conversation to follow and so he doubted he would actually be getting any sort of rest for the next few hours.

Eggsy was thoroughly surprised then when, instead of being questioned the moment the front door was closed, he found himself pinned to the same wall as last time, Harry’s head buried in his neck as he breathed him in deeply, his arms wrapped tightly around the younger man’s slim waist; the hold was nearly painful.

“I…” Eggsy hesitated, eyes wide, completely caught off guard. He slowly lifted his hands up to clutch at Harry’s back, the stress and the pain he’d been feeling since getting that stupid implant in his neck finally coming back to him, hitting him in the heart with the impact of a shotgun. “Oh god,” be breathed out shakily, his body trembling lightly.

“I lost you,” Harry muttered, his face still buried in the crook of Eggsy’s neck. “I lost you. He took you away from me _twice_ and I couldn’t do anything.”

“I’m so sorry,” Eggsy hiccupped, horrified to realise there were tears suddenly dripping down his face. “F-fuck, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to.”

Harry held him tighter. “I know, my dear boy, I know.”


	22. Something you want

            They stayed tangled together in that hallway for what felt like hours, breathing each other in and assuring themselves that they had both truly made it out alive, that the last few weeks of separation were finally over. Eggsy’s hands were still clutching at the fabric of Harry’s suit, but he could feel the exhaustion weighing down on him, his eyelids steadily becoming heavier with every passing second.

            Eggsy cleared his throat and spoke up, his voice strained and tired. “Let’s go up, yeah?” he suggested. He was practically dead on his feet in that moment; the last two weeks in Mombasa were hard on him. He had been in a constant state of worry, the implant in his neck a literal bomb that could go off at any moment.

            “Of course,” Harry agreed and pulled away slightly, his hands coming up to tug at Eggsy so that they could climb the stairs together. Once on the upper landing, he directed the younger man straight into the ensuite in his bedroom, already helping him remove his jacket so that he could clean himself first. “Get undressed,” he instructed Eggsy as he headed towards the bathtub, his hands already fiddling with the taps to fill it up.

            Eggsy followed him without question, unbuttoning his shirt and letting it fall where he stood before getting to work on his trousers. By the time he was fully undressed, the bathtub was already half-full and Harry helped him in. He hissed slightly at the rising heat as he stepped in but he could feel the tension seeping out of him as he sat down, the nearly scalding water relaxing his painfully tense muscles. He closed his eyes in relief and let his head fall back against the porcelain; he could fall asleep here without any problem. He heard the taps being turned off after a little while.

            “You disappeared for three weeks,” Harry’s voice interrupted the silence.

            Eggsy forced his eyes open and turned to look at him where he stood, the older man’s face lined with residual worry, his frown ever-present. “I’m sorry,” Eggsy repeated honestly. It had been painful for him to leave even when he knew he had no other choice. He couldn’t risk compromising the entire mission by saying no to Valentine when the offer was made, nor could he have given away MI6’s and Kingsman’s involvements with the issue, and so his only choice was to go to a completely separate third party. “I’d have done it differently if I could’ve,” he exhaled shakily when he met Harry’s deep brown eyes.

            “I thought you died,” Harry suddenly looked away and occupied himself with picking up Eggsy’s clothes, folding them away even though they were a lost cause. “Valentine activated the implant in front of me and it felt like –” he cut himself off, unable to even find the words to describe the heart-wrenching wave of pain he’d suffered through in that moment.

            Eggsy shifted slightly, the water moving with him as he made himself sit up for the conversation that was to be had. “How did he find out?” he asked him, his arms coming up to wrap around his knees, skin glistening. He didn’t need to explain what the question was referring to, Harry would know.

            “South Glade Mission Church,” was all Harry said as he placed the bundle of clothes on the countertop near the sink.

            Eggsy frowned, the name not giving him any hints.

            “It’s based in Kentucky,” Harry explained after a moment, bent over the sink with his hands on either side, choosing not to turn and face the other man as he recounted the story. “Valentine had planned to execute his final test there.”

            Realisation finally dawned over the younger man. “You were there,” he guessed rightly, fear building up in him as he figured out the rest. “You were affected by the SIM cards.”

            Harry nodded as he removed his suit jacket and placed it on the counter as well, deft fingers removing cufflinks and rolling up sleeves.

            “Harry…” Eggsy trailed off. He couldn’t imagine how the man was feeling, having been forced to lose control in that manner.

            “I killed all those people without realising it,” he spoke up as he finally turned around once he’d pulled off his tie, though he kept his eyes focused on Eggsy’s shoulder so as not to meet his gaze. “But that doesn’t bother me, not really,” he admitted, wondering if that should make him feel guilty or less human, though he long ago learned not to dwell over things he could not have avoided and that church was one of them. “We had finally gotten a lead after three weeks of dead ends following your disappearence. When it was all over, Valentine was standing outside, waiting for me. It was fairly obvious at that point that I wasn’t a financial advisor,” he chuckled darkly. “It wasn’t hard for Valentine to determine that you also were not what you seemed. He killed you right in front of me.”

            Eggsy’s arms tightened around his knees as he tried to put himself in Harry’s position; he can’t imagine he would have reacted well at thinking the other man had died. “Bond said something about you doing the same thing?” he asked hesitantly.

            “Had to surprise Arthur and Valentine somehow,” he let through the semblance of a smirk. “007 and Q were a great help in that regard.” Harry looked up when he heard the water moving again and caught sight of Eggsy raising a hand towards him, beckoning him over. He moved forward with barely any thought, obeying the younger man’s request easily. He tangled his fingers with the other’s as he knelt down beside the bathtub though he nearly yelped as Eggsy used the opportunity to pull him in, the water sloshing dangerously over the edge. His clothes stuck to his skin as he settled in, the surprise still evident on his face as he took in his new position. He then watched in rapture as Eggsy proceeded to climb onto his clothed lap and sit down.

            “Hi,” the younger man sighed and wrapped his arms around Harry, leaning in so that they were pressed chest to chest.

            “Hello,” Harry breathed deeply and held him impossibly close, uncaring of his soaked attire.

            “We’ve got a few hours left together,” Eggsy told him as he held back the sadness that automatically accompanied the words. “Got anythin’ in mind to occupy ourselves?” he tried to smile.

            “Eggsy,” Harry gently pushed him back a little, a frown on his face. “This entire mission might be finalised in twenty-four hours but if you think that’s going to keep me from seeing you after…” he trailed off as a devastatingly beautiful smile began to spread across the younger man’s face.

            Instead of answering him, Eggsy moved forward to press a solid kiss to his lips. Harry’s eyes slipped shut at the sensation, the softness of Eggsy’s mouth against his a more than welcome feeling. It felt like an eternity since the last time they’d been together like that, even though it truly hadn’t been more than a few weeks.

            The younger man moaned as he shifted his hips, his previous exhaustion all but forgotten in the wake of their current activities.

            “God I missed you,” Harry groaned as he let his hands drift over the soft skin of Eggsy’s back, his fingertips lightly tracing the various scars they came across. “One of these days, you’re going to tell me where each of these came from,” he told him.

            “Only if you do the same,” Eggsy smiled before kissing him again and again. Gone was the tame nature they’d shared before; now it was all teeth and tongues, their previous hurt and frustrations making their way through and transforming into desire.

            Eggsy’s hands were tugging at Harry’s wet shirt, the buttons giving him a rather hard time as they refused to budge. “Might as well,” he grumbled as he tugged harder, sending the buttons clattering around them. Harry could care less if it meant that he would be able to feel the younger man that much closer to him. He moved helpfully as Eggsy shoved the fabric off his shoulders and down his arms; Harry groaned as the other proceeded to follow the same path as the shirt, his lips trailing against skin as it was revealed inch by inch. Once his arms were finally freed, Harry moved to pull Eggsy back up before kissing him again, even more demanding than before.

            “Fuck –” the younger man’s breath hitched as he felt the stirrings of arousal completely overtaking his senses.

            Harry was suddenly impatient to move them somewhere more comfortable so that they could do everything he’d dreamed of them doing since their first night together. “Let’s take this to the bedroom, shall we?” he proposed.

            Eggsy merely nodded frantically, forcing his thighs to let go so that he could actually move. His face was already flushed, his cheekbones a bright red as the blood rushed through his veins with excitement. He stood up and stepped over the tub, grabbing the towel that had been left out for him and quickly drying off. He turned around and nearly fell over as he caught sight of Harry standing up with wet trousers, the outline of his erection as obvious as it could possibly be. Eggsy continued to watch as the older man bent over to empty the bath before straightening up again and undoing the trousers’ buckle, forcing the wet fabric off and leaving it where it fell; he would take care of it later.

            Together they walked into the bedroom, their arms wrapped around each other as they refused to leave the other’s personal space if they could help it. Eggsy felt the back of his knees hit the bed and he let himself fall freely, Harry following him not long after. The older man crawled over him, placing kisses all over his abdomen, taking care not to worsen Eggsy’s bandaged injuries.

            It was difficult for Harry to concentrate with Eggsy’s legs spread wantonly beneath him the way they were; he knew he had to get up and get condoms as well as the bottle of lube from the bedside table but he didn’t want to move from the cocoon of heat that welcomed him. He peppered little nips and bites to the skin of Eggsy’s collarbones, the younger man’s moans encouraging him to continue.

            Eggsy’s hands came up to scratch at Harry’s shoulder, his nails leaving raising welts across the flesh as he begged the man to do _more_. “No time for teasin’, yeah?” Eggsy gasped out, his lungs struggling for breath as he looked at the beautiful man between his thighs. “We waited long enough, and to be honest, ain’t either of us gonna last,” he admitted as his head fell back against the pillow, his chest heaving.

            Harry definitely agreed with that assessment as felt himself steadily losing any semblance of control; his hips were already rutting forward in expectation. He cursed and forced himself up and off the bed, half-heartedly ignoring Eggsy’s questing arms and his groan of protest. He went for the bedside table, opening the first drawer and grabbing the bottle of lube before tossing it over to the bed as he hunted after the elusive box of condoms. He knew they had placed it there last time, so it couldn’t be very far – Harry very nearly cried out in relief as his hand finally grabbed hold of it. He turned around with his prize and had the breath knocked out of him.

            There, lying wantonly across the bed, was Eggsy already stretching himself out with two fingers, the third one slowly squeezing its way through. He was panting, a deep red flush spreading from his chest to his face as he fought to breathe properly. When he caught sight of Harry gaping at him, Eggsy attempted to grin but he found himself interrupted as a loud moan passed unheeded through his lips instead.

            That spurred Harry into action, his hands already tearing a foil package open as he rushed back toward the bed; he placed the condom on before crawling over Eggsy’s magnetic form, unable to resist biting at the younger man’s glistening chest as he placed himself back between his legs, muscled thighs automatically coming up to clench at Harry’s waist.

            “I’m ready,” Eggsy told him breathlessly as he pulled his fingers away. He shifted his hips in anticipation as Harry spread lube over himself, but Eggsy grew impatient as his lover took too much time to get ready. He huffed out in frustration, his thighs tightening nearly painfully as he flipped them over, Harry’s expression surprised as he suddenly found himself with his back to the bed. Eggsy grinned delightfully, his left hand on Harry’s chest for balance as he worked to sink himself down, his body barely registering any pain as he was stretched open.

            Harry clenched his teeth as he watched his lover take control, Eggsy’s face the perfect picture of bliss. His placed his hands on Eggsy’s hips, his fingers tightening to the point of bruising; his lover would bear his marks for days to come. Harry actively encouraged the younger man as he began to move, his abdominal muscles contracting as he shifted back and forth. He couldn’t believe his luck at having found someone so lovely and so beautiful, he thought to himself as he watched Eggsy throw his head back, his hips undulating without shame as he picked up the pace.

            “Do you have any idea how irresistible you are?” Harry groaned, his right hand coming up to cradle Eggsy’s face, the younger man’s mouth falling open to capture Harry’s thumb; he closed his lips around it and sucked greedily, moaning at the thought of what he’d like to be sucking on instead. “Fuck,” Harry swore harshly, his toes curling as he thrust up into the heat of Eggsy’s body, instinctively searching for that release he knew he was so close to achieving.

            “I – I ain’t gonna last –” Eggsy broke off with a cry around the thumb in his mouth as he felt Harry’s length brush against that bundle of nerves, spots of light flickering past his vision. “Harry –” he inhaled sharply when the older man’s hand dropped from his face down to his erection, pumping it in time to Eggsy’s movements. He couldn’t possibly have lasted much longer after that.

            Soon enough, Eggsy was curling over, his mouth open in a silent cry as he came all over Harry’s chest, the young agent’s body trembling through his powerful orgasm. He could feel his nails dig deep into the delicate skin beneath his fingertips, but he didn’t have the mind to hold himself back.

            Harry watched the pleasure roll through Eggsy, his heart aching for the boy above him. His hips kept thrusting up as he searched for his own release; he could feel it building up in his nerve-endings just out his reach.

            It seemed like Eggsy was able to read his mind because as soon as he had mildly recovered from his own orgasm, he made it his goal to have Harry come twice as hard. He didn’t have to wait much longer for a result; a mere few thrusts later and the older man was chasing his orgasm over a cliff, a cry of pleasure escaping him as both his hands dropped back down to Eggsy’s muscled waist, his fingers clenching tightly as he let the feeling surge through him.

            For a while, the only sounds that filled the room were those of their harsh breaths mingling together. Eggsy let himself fall forward, his forehead pressing against Harry’s lovingly, his fingers trailing from Harry’s pecs to his cheeks. “How many o’ those do you think we can squeeze in before we have to leave?” Eggsy asked cheekily, still trying to catch his breath.

            That surprised a laugh out of Harry, he head tilting forward to capture the younger man’s lips in a fierce kiss. “Oh I’m sure we can fit in a few more,” he spoke against his mouth with a smile. “But we’ll have all the time in the world once we get back.”

            Eggsy pulled back slightly to stare into Harry’s eyes. “Yeah?” his voice was tentative.

            “Of course,” Harry agreed readily. “If that is something you want,” he made sure to state.

            “’Course it is!” Eggsy exclaimed incredulously, his blue eyes gleaming happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the epilogue :)


	23. Likewise

            Eggsy paced nervously back and forth on the pavement, his movements twitchy and jittery as he kept glancing at the modest building across the street. Harry watched him with fond amusement, leaning casually against the wall behind him with his hands in his pockets.

            “I’m not quite certain if you’ve noticed, but we’ve been standing here for the past,” he brought a hand up to look at his watch, “hour and a half. Hm, feels like longer,” Harry commented as he raised an eyebrow.

            “Don’t start,” Eggsy warned him, practically determined to pace a hole in the ground. “It’s been over three years, I ain’t just waltzin’ back in there like nothin’ happened,” he argued again, bringing up the same points he’d been focused on for weeks. Bond and Q had nearly given up on him when he’d refused to budge.

            Harry observed him curiously, his arms crossing over his chest. “I don’t understand; you’ll enter a room filled to the brim with people who want to kill you without any problem, but _this_ in particular stalls you.”

            “I’ll take the end of the world over this,” Eggsy grit out, his breathing patchy as he tried to calm himself down.

            It was when Eggsy breaths began to stutter that Harry let himself intervene; he pushed himself away from the wall and stood in the middle of the younger man’s path, effectively forcing him to stop his incessant pacing. Eggsy looked up at him, his face flushing the way it did when he was close to having an anxiety attack, rare as they were. He only ever started panicking enough to merit an anxiety attack when the issue at hand was closely related to those he cared about most.

            Harry reached out and placed his hands on the younger man’s shoulders, rubbing them gently. “We’ve spoken about this,” he reminded his lover gently as he stepped closer. “They will never turn you away.”

            “What if that ain’t true?” Eggsy asked out of breath, his own hands coming up to clutch tightly at Harry’s forearms. “What if she ain’t wanna see me again?”

            Harry smiled softly as he caught movement from the corner of his eye. “I think we both know that’s not a possibility.” He nodded his head to the side, waiting for Eggsy to turn and see why for himself.

            There, standing at the entrance of a modest house that was bought by what was meant to be a mysterious benefactor – she had known from the beginning that Eggsy was the one behind the purchase – was Michelle Unwin, her features wide with surprise. “Eggsy?” she called out hesitantly, uncertain if the young man in the bespoke suit truly was her estranged son.

            Harry could feel Eggsy panicking even more as he turned to face his mother for the first time since he’d left to join the Marines, tears falling down his face as he walked away from his family so that he could have the chance to give them a better life.

Michelle Unwin stared at them, the cars whizzing between them unnoticed. Eggsy stood frozen until he felt Harry nudge him slightly, pushing him forward.

            “You can do this,” Harry encouraged him lovingly. “Think of it as another mission.”

            “Righ’,” Eggsy nodded nervously. “Just another mission.” He took a deep breath and forced his legs to move in order to cross the road towards the shocked woman. He stopped hesitantly a few feet from the entrance, Harry a solid presence not far behind him. He swallowed harshly and greeted quietly, “Hey mum.”

            Eggsy hadn’t known what to expect. Actually, that was a lie; he had expected to be slapped, to be yelled at, to be told to leave and never come back. He had expected things to unfold the way they had the first time he’d told her he had joined the Marines, young and determined to get his pregnant mother away from the scum of the earth that was Dean. What he hadn’t expected however was to suddenly find his arms full, his mother having jumped forward to hug him fiercely.

            “Mum?” Eggsy gulped, his body frozen in shock.

            “You stupid, stupid boy,” his mother sobbed loudly into his chest. “I never meant it, I never meant any of it! And then I couldn’t find you and you weren’t supposed to leave!”

            Eggsy could feel the tears building up in his eyes, lifting his own arms to wrap them around his mother’s smaller trembling frame. “I missed you,” he whispered against her hair.

            Harry watched the reunion from a few feet away, soft smile still on his face. He’d never had any doubt that Eggsy would be welcomed back with open arms. It had however taken a lot of effort on all of their parts to convince the younger man to come back. Watching the younger man’s growing happiness however, Harry would have it no other way.

            Hours later, after Eggsy had sat down with his mother and finally met his half-sister for the first time, they found themselves in Harry’s office at the tailor shop, the younger man sitting on the desk and Harry on his chair facing him. They’d agreed to supper at his mother’s house the next day, tearful smiles on their faces as they said goodbye. Eggsy had avoided answering any questions that had to do with his time in the Marines and where he was now. Michelle however wasn’t stupid; she could tell that her son was involved in something even more dangerous now, just like she knew that the man at his side was much more than just a friend.

            “That went rather well,” Harry commented as he rolled his chair closer, coming to a stop between the younger man’s legs. “You could have been reunited with your family earlier on had you listened to us,” he smirked as he rubbed Eggsy’s thighs affectionately, hands lingering.

            “Oi you,” Eggsy shoved the other man away playfully before dragging him back even closer. “Thank you,” he sobered up, an honest expression on his face. “I don’t think I could’ve done this withou’ all of yous yellin’ at me.”

            “Yes, I do think Bond and Q teaming up to make your life a virtual living hell was quite the encouragement,” Harry laughed softly.

            “Now I see why Kingsman and MI6 never team up together,” Eggsy scoffed, a scowl on his face. “The world would implode. Already the five of you are impossible when put together. Rox was especially vicious; I still have bruises from the smack down she gave me.”

            “Lancelot is one of our best operatives for a reason. We agreed that she was probably our best bet when it came to convincing you to stop acting like a child,” Harry confirmed lightly, half-heartedly avoiding the smack the other man tried to give him.

            Eggsy was suddenly sliding off the desk and onto Harry’s lap, uncaring of the fact that they were in Harry’s office where anyone could walk in on them. “Are you sure ‘bout tha’, Arthur?” he teased as he wrapped his arms around the older man’s shoulders, his lips coming up to trail lovingly against Harry’s jawline.

            “Mmm, maybe you can change my mind, Galahad,” Harry leaned back happily in his seat, his hands lifting to squeeze at Eggsy’s generous arse.

            “Takin’ advantage of your knights, are you?” he smirked cheekily, rising on his knees slightly to press kisses all over Harry’s face, from his temple to the corner of his eyes. “That ain’t very professional there, boss. I ain’t gone and left MI6 so I can be treated like a boy toy, yeah?”

            Harry’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. He grabbed Eggsy by the waist and held him close, breathing in the scent of him where his face was pressed into the younger’s man hard chest. “I love you,” he told him suddenly.

            It wasn’t the first time he’d said those three words; they had come a long way in the past few months, and it hadn’t taken long for Harry to realise that the man he held in his arms was it for him. There would never be any other. Eggsy had pulled away from him after that first time, telling him he needed time to think and leaving abruptly after hastily getting dressed. Harry had swallowed back his worries and had gone against the instincts that urged him to hunt after his lover. His patience had paid off in the end as, three days later, Eggsy was back at his doorstep in the middle of the night, his expression frantic.

            “I love you!” was the first thing past the younger man’s lips when Harry opened the door in surprise, head still groggy with sleep. “I love you and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, no matter how long or short that time ends up bein’. I just – I want –”

            Harry pulled Eggsy into his arms and kissed him. The younger man didn’t need to explain; Harry himself had gone through a similar reaction when he’d noticed just how much Eggsy meant to him. It was dangerous in their line of work, to love another person so wholly and so strongly. Harry would destroy the world for his lover if he ever asked. Eggsy must have had the same realisation and subsequently panicked.

            “I love you too,” the younger man whispered, bringing Harry out of his memories and back to the present. They were happy. They were more than happy.

            They stayed that way for a while, wrapped up in each other and forgetting the rest of the world. The sound of the phone ringing forced them out of their bubble though, a sigh escaping Harry as the real world beckoned them.

            Eggsy eyed the machine evilly, unhappy with the interruption. He saw the number flashing across the screen and answered, “You doin’ it on purpose then?”

            “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Merlin replied innocently. “I was merely calling my _boss_ to let him know that the reports he asked for are finished and being sent his way.”

            “Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell him. G’night Merlin!” He went to hang up, Merlin’s voice still floating through the phone.

            “Don’t break the bloody chair again, for fuck’s sake!”

            Eggsy broke out in laughter and hung up, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment as he remembered what happened last time.

            “That was entirely your fault and I refuse to be blamed for it,” Harry remarked casually once his lover was focused on him again.

            “Fuckin’ lies and you know it,” Eggsy leaned forward and captured the other man’s mouth in a bruising kiss, pulling back to bite at Harry’s lower lip in retaliation. “As I recall, you were quite happy and enthusiastic in the moment.”

            “Pardon me for saying but it’s nearly impossible to be anything but happy around you,” Harry told him sincerely.

            Eggsy leaned his forehead against his, a soft smile on his lips. “Likewise, old man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the road, folks! Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on tumblr! (midnightsurge.tumblr.com)


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